Titanium
by huggablelove
Summary: When Phineas and Vanessa go missing, all that's left behind is a demand to Ferb and Dr. D to quit inventing. Ferb and the gang, Doofenshmirtz and Perry team up to take down the kidnapper. Fernessa, Phinbella and Canderemy. Rated T for violence
1. Introduction

**A/N  
>I do not own Phineas and Ferb.<strong>

**Before I start this story, you're going to need to know just the basic background as I jump straight into the plot. I'll probably explore everything in other stories, but for the sake of this one, please read.**

**Ages:  
>-Phineas: 16<br>-Ferb: 16 (but a few months older than Phineas)  
>-Isabella: 16<br>-Baljeet: 16  
>-Buford: 16<br>-Candace: 20  
>-Vanessa: 20<br>-Jeremy: 21**

**Relationships:  
>-Fernessa all the way through<br>-Phinbella towards the end  
>-Canderemy all the way through<br>-Potential BaljeetxGinger**

**Candace and Jeremy are both in college together. Phineas and Ferb live at home, but own a business together inventing things. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford are still all very close friends.**

**Right, so I hope you enjoy this story, it will be quite long, and please leave constructive criticism. Thanks!**


	2. Threats

Beeeeep. Beeeeep.

Ferb grinned as he hit the alarm with his hand. At 6 o clock each morning, he and Phineas had an on-going competition on who could hit the alarm first. Phineas won almost every time, so Ferb savoured the rare victory over his brother. Until he noticed his brother's bed was already empty.

Ferb simply presumed that Phineas had already made an early start that day. Most likely another of his big ideas. So Ferb got dressed then made his way downstairs for breakfast, accompanied by a groggy semi-aquatic mammal.

Perry yawned and followed Ferb downstairs, hungry. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, that was something was wrong, but simply dismissed it as hunger. He chattered impatiently as his owner prepared his breakfast.

"Calm down Perry, give me a second,"

Perry frowned when he was certain nobody would see him. He chattered again as Ferb placed his food bowl on the floor with a clang. Perry strolled over whilst his owner prepared his own meal, and wolfed down his food.

"Hmm. Phineas isn't here. Where could he be, eh Perry?" the green-haired teenager questioned.

Perry looked up at his owner mindlessly, but it was tugging on his mind as well. '_Where could he be if he's not down here?' _the platypus wondered. He decided after he'd finished eating, he'd have a look for him. Phineas would probably turn up in the garage, tinkering with some invention, or scrawling his ideas down on a blueprint somewhere.

Ferb frowned. Phineas would've left him a note on the table if he'd gone off somewhere, so as to not worry his family. And he certainly wasn't in the bedroom, or downstairs. Ferb gave up eating his breakfast, pushing the bowl across the breakfast counter. He stood up, and walked off to the garage. Perry followed suite, just as curious as Ferb to what Phineas could be doing that required him to awake so early.

Nothing.

He wasn't in the garage, and nothing had been moved from where they had left it the previous, suggesting Phineas hadn't been in there. Ferb frowned again. He pulled out his cell phone and flicked down the contacts list until he came across Isabella's name. He quickly typed out a rough text to her and sent it.

Hey Izzy, Phineas isnt with u is he?

Ferb had barely put the phone back in his pocket when the phone beeped at him.

No, why?

Ferb looked at the screen for a second, flummoxed as to where Phineas had gotten off to, if he wasn't at home and he wasn't with Isabella.

I cant find him anywere. He didn't say if he was going to a convention today did he?

Instead of slipping the phone back in his pocket, Ferb simply held it out in front, he figured if Isabella's previous speed was anything to go on, there would be no point in the action. His phone beeped again.

No, he hasn't said anything to me. Ill keep an eye out for him, k?

He quickly tapped on the phone keys once more, then slid his phone back into his pocket.

Thanks Izzy, Ill tell you if I find him.

Perry, meanwhile, decided to act upon the bad feeling in his stomach. He ventured back up to the boys bedroom to search for clues. Having a trained eye, he could probably spot things that Ferb couldn't. He needn't have put that skill into action though, because lying atop Phineas' bed in plain sight, was a ransom note.

Perry's heart jumped a little as he read it and he kicked himself for not spotting it earlier, but thanked whatever looked over semi-aquatic secret agents for allowing him to spot it before Ferb. Because if Ferb read it, it would've broke his heart.

He pulled his fedora from no-where, and stuffed the ransom note under his hat, before making off to his OWCA base to report the emergency to Major Monogram. He tried to banish the words from his head, but those damned words just lingered in his mind.

Quit the inventing, Ferb Fletcher,  
>or your precious little brother and sweet little girlfriend will die.<br>You've been warned.

Don't try pulling anything Agent P,  
>I know who you are.<p>

* * *

><p>Heinz's stretched his arms out as he rose for from his bed. Despite the fact that him and Perry fought every day for the past however many years, he still woke up aching each day. He yawned, and strolled out to grab a snack before running over today's plan.<p>

"Vanessa honey, would you like to help me check my plan?" He called out across the penthouse while rubbing his eyes. Heinz opened the cupboard, looking for something that didn't taste disgusting. Maybe that's what he could do tomorrow. Make a Turn-everything-into-a-cake-inator. It wasn't exactly evil, but it was purely to benefit him, so Heinz figured it wasn't exactly good either.

"I will, dad!" replied his robotic servant/friend Norm, optimistic as ever. Heinz groaned and face-palmed. He couldn't understand why Norm saw him as a father; robots didn't have dads as far as Heinz was concerned.

"Norm, we've been over this before! I. AM. NOT. YOUR. DAD!" he shouted back. "Vanessa darling, are you okay? Do you want pancakes for breakfast?"

No reply.

"Vanessa?" Heinz walked over to the spare room where his daughter stayed on her weekends around. He knocked on the door lightly, then again, harder than before.

"Vanessa?" He was starting to get concerned. It was half past 6 now; he was more than certain she would be up by now. He knocked on the door again, quicker and harder.

"Vanessa! I'm coming in!" Heinz shouted. He pushed down on the door handle, to be greeted by an empty room, and a made bed, with a small folded piece of paper lying atop it.

"Hmm, she must've gone out somewhere. Nooorm?" He shouted, drawing his robot's name out.

"Yes, dad?" Heinz sighed as he was fed up of correcting Norm. What harm could it do to him anyway to allow the robot to go on calling him dad?

"Did Vanessa leave earlier?"

"At about midnight. With a bunch of strange men!" Norm replied, rather optimistically. Heinz's eyes widened as he dove frantically at the note left on Vanessa's bed, unfolding it with trembling fingers.

Pack in the inventing game, Heinz,  
>or your little girl will get it.<p> 


	3. Cooperation

**A/N  
>I forgot the disclaimer last time, oops! So yeah, I don't own Phineas and Ferb.<br>I also thought it'd be a good idea to explain the title, seeing as it seems a bit random. It's because this fan fiction was originally a one-shot inspired the song Titanium (which I also don't own). The chapter is still included in the story, so I'll post a link to the song when we reach the chapter, as I think it makes the experience better :)**

**Ooh! And if you want, try and guess the villain in your review! I want to see people's ideas :D**

**WordNerb93: Aww, thank you! My first ever review, and it's an awesome one! And I guess only time will tell on whether Doof and Ferb team up or not :)**

**Fletcher-inator: Thank you. I plan on posting a chapter every day, seeing as I've written a few in advance.**

**NattyMc****: Only time will tell (I think I like that phrase today haha!)**

Perry dove head first down the tube that led to his underground OWCA lair. He planned to leave the note with his superior, and leave to thwart whatever crazy plan Doofenshmirtz had come up with today, so Carl had time to analyse the note and Perry was prepared to aid the search mission.

He fell into his chair and rotated round to face the screen in front of him. He hit a small red button in front of him, which informed his superior of a current emergency involving the agent.

"Agent P? What are you doing here so early?" Monogram yawned, running his and through his hair. Perry pulled the note made composed of magazine clippings from under his fedora and held it up high to the monitor, frowning at Monogram. His superior squinted before gasping and pointing.

"Is that a ransom note?" He shouted. Carl apparently couldn't resist the urge to find out what was going on, and joined Monogram on screen. Perry nodded solemnly, the anguish apparent in his expression.

"Leave it with me Perry, I'll see what I can get from it," the young intern said. Monogram just glanced silently between his best agent and his unpaid intern before coughing, bringing the pair's attention back to him.

"The OWCA will aid the search for Phineas, in fact, we'll take over it, but you have to understand you still have a job to do Agent P. So, go on over to Doofenshmirtz and thwart whatever crazy plan he has devised today. Good luck Agent P!" Monogram saluted, and Perry returned the gesture. He left the note on his desk for Carl to collect, and ran over to his hovercraft, anxious to get today's encounter with Doofenshmirtz over as quickly as possible.

* * *

><p>Heinz gripped the note tightly between his hands, shaking in fear. He sat perched on the end of Vanessa's bed, wide-eyed and staring into thin air. Thoughts raced through his head. How was his baby girl? Who took her? What did they want with him?<p>

He was so terrified over what had happened, he couldn't think straight. He didn't hear Norm calling him to tell him Perry had arrived, or the crash that preceded Norm's calls. He didn't pay attention when the semi-aquatic agent walked into Vanessa's room, looking at him and chattering worriedly. All he could think about was his baby girl.

Perry took notice of Doofenshmirtz's unusual behaviour and the lack of a trap, or any obvious plan. The cogs begun to turn as Perry realised: it was Vanessa's weekend stay here. The ransom note Ferb got stated 'your precious little brother AND your sweet little girlfriend'. It all clicked.

Perry tried to comfort his frenemy. He tried smiling at Doofenshmirtz, rubbing his back comfortingly, even trying to hug him, but nothing broke Heinz out of his trance. The scientist slowly turned his head towards Perry, his eyes brimming with tears.

"They took my baby girl Perry the Platypus… They took her…"

Perry reached out for the note, tugging on it slightly in an attempt to coax Heinz to hand it over. His nemesis looked him in the eyes, and released his grasp on the ransom note. Perry looked over it slowly, trying to pick out tiny details which might give the culprit away. He frowned when his search turned up empty, then handed it back to Heinz.

"Why are you helping me Perry the Platypus?"

Perry held one finger up, signalling Doofenshmirtz to wait a minute, leaving his nemesis perplexed. Heinz remained perched on the end of Vanessa's bed, until Perry re-entered the bedroom, holding a piece of paper. He held it out to Doofenshmirtz, until the evil scientist took the paper and unfolded it.

Because we're frenemies Heinz, and whoever is doing this is trying to get  
>at Ferb too. Vanessa isn't the only one to have gone missing in relation to this,<br>Ferb's brother has been taken too.

Heinz read over the note once more, before looking back at the sorrowful platypus in front of him. He could tell that those boys were important to Perry somehow, and knew his help could be priceless in the rescue mission. He also realised that Vanessa meant the world to Ferb, despite the fact they hadn't been together for long, and he wouldn't stop at anything to find her and his brother.

* * *

><p>Ferb tugged at his hair. He was running out of ideas to where Phineas had gone. He called round all their friends, gone down to their Dad's antique shop and the shop where they run the inventing business, and now sat confused on the couch, starting to worry.<p>

It'd been 2 hours since he woke up, and there was no sign of Phineas anywhere.

Ferb didn't bother phoning the police. Phineas hadn't been gone for over 24 hours, so they wouldn't get off their lazy arses and start searching for another 22 hours. He sighed and tried to banish the thought from his head. Phineas wasn't missing-missing, he'd just wonder off to somewhere his brother couldn't find. He felt like hitting himself. 2hours ago, that statement would've been plausible, but now… Now Ferb didn't want to think of it.

* * *

><p>"Perry the Platypus, you really should get a bigger hover car if you ever want to take a human in it again. It's so tiny and squished back here!" Doofenshmirtz complained as he continued to wriggle, trying to find a comfy position in Perry's one platypus hover car. Perry simply rolled his eyes with a small smile. Almost there now. He didn't have to put up with Doofenshmirtz's whining for much longer.<p>

Perry breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his home come into view. He tap the small blue button directly in front of him, and a small hole just big enough for his hover car opened up in the back yard. Doofenshmirtz gasped and pointed, as if Perry hadn't seen what he'd done.

"Perry the Platypus! That so… fancy! Do the guys living here know you live here?"

Perry blinked a few times. The question had him wondering how he'd answer it. Yes, they knew he lived here as Perry the Platypus who does nothing, but not as Secret Agent P who had a base under their home. In the end he settled with simply pretending he hadn't heard his nemesis' question.

He slowly lowered the hover car into the hole below him, and through the small tunnel that led down to his lair, before parking it. He held up his hand to Doofenshmirtz, gesturing him to stay put. Doofenshmirtz frowned at him, but did as told.

He walked down into his lair, and sat in the seat. Major Monogram was on the screen in front, but appeared otherwise distracted. Perry chattered impatiently at him, and folded his arm, but Monogram paid no heed, so Perry simply waited.

After what seemed like hours, Monogram turned to face the semi-aquatic secret agent. He smiled at Perry slightly, which confused the platypus. Monogram rarely smiled, so why now? Has he got good news? Has he-

"Agent P, sorry for the hold up. I was just discussing the current incident with Wanda from the other division. We've decided that in the interest of finding Phineas and Vanessa that it'd be best to give all involved in the Robot Riot their memories back."

**A/N**  
><strong>Le gasp. A cliffhanger! Aren't I evil? Well not really, it's not a real cliff hanger. Anyways, I have something important to ask you guys. Theres two possible paths this story could take. A shorter one, which is what it's on now, or a longer one with more excitement, and an introduction of a master plan behind the current plan our characters have found themselves dealing with. So, please say in a review which you'd prefer, thank you!<strong>


	4. Memories

**A/N  
>Hi there guys! I see all those who voted chose longer, so I'll do the longer one, but I'll break it down into two parts. The first half is this one, Titanium, and the second one will go up approximately a week after Titanium's end. I haven't decided completely on a title yet, but I've fallen in love with Heart of Courage, because that song will work so will for the entire thing. If you haven't already heard it, give it a shot! You won't be disappointed! Onto the reviews :D<strong>

**NattyMC: Yus, I couldn't resist a le gasp! It felt so right!**

**Wii Guy: Hi there! And don't worry; Candace will become involved in the story as the plot develops. The only reason she isn't already involved is because Ferb didn't realise the severity of the situation :) And Candace is one of the main characters in Heart of Courage. But I totally agree with you, she would go all the way to save her brother. And nope, not Doofy-2 :D**

**helloooo fanfiction p: Then longer it shall be. I kinda hoped people would vote longer, as I'll be able to bring in so many more characters which I can't in just Titanium, and I've been loving writing this story. And thank you! That means a lot to me!**

**WordNerb93: And there will certainly be more twists coming from where that one came from! Teehee, because I mean and I like to keep readers guessing! And thank you for voting! I guess this one could even be seen as a build up to the next one, where it goes full-scale epic! Lets continue with the story then shall we? :)**

Perry was more than a little shocked at his superior's decision, but realised the fact that whoever was behind it had knowledge of OWCA, they'd have to be extra careful, and returning the knowledge of OWCA to them may just save lives if whoever the culprit struck again.

He nodded his head slightly, and gestured Doofenshmirtz to come forward. Monogram didn't appear too surprised from what Perry could tell, but Heinz explained himself anyway.

"Umm, Monobro- I mean Monogram. I'm here to volunteer my help to OWCA. My baby girl's missing, and I just want her found. So please, I'll help you if you help me!" The evil scientist begged, looking up at the screen with pleading eyes

"Doofenshmirtz, Carl will be there soon to lead you to a room where your memories will be restored. Agent P, we need you to round up whoever you can who will be a help towards this mission, and was involved in the Robot Riot. Your judgement will be at test today, and Pinky the Chihuahua will deal with Isabella."

Perry saluted at his major and left the room through the tree elevator. He already knew Ferb needed his memory restored, and figured that Buford and Baljeet could prove useful and brains and brawn. Perry reckoned that also having the Fireside girls on board could be useful, as when together, they seemed unstoppable, and could easily mastermind the team's movements. But first, he'd deal with Ferb.

The green haired teenager hadn't moved a muscle the past half hour. He sat on the sofa in silence, racking his brain for any hints Phineas might have dropped of him going somewhere. Ferb was so glad his parents were away on vacation for now: they would be panicked senseless, and it'd only make it harder for Ferb to think.

He saw something small move in his peripheral vision, and could've sworn it was his pet platypus. But Perry wasn't due back yet from his daily wanders to god knows where, so Ferb decided to investigate.

As he neared where he thought he saw movement by the door, he saw a piece of white paper lying by the tree in the backyard. Curious, Ferb ventured over to the note and picked it up.

Knock 3 times on the tree trunk. 

Ferb read the peculiar message over again, to make sure he'd read it right, and presumed that it was a surprise off Phineas, that he'd somehow converted the inside of the tree into something amazing. He rapped his knuckles against the tree three times, and watched in amazement as part of the tree bark slid away, to reveal a very high-tech looking elevator.

He stepped inside and pressed the only button present: down. Ferb looked around as he realised his was moving through a maze of see-through tubes. He couldn't help but wonder when Phineas had the time to do this, when it came back to him. They'd stumbled across this place when they were kids, and Phineas had presumed it was Ferb responsible for the construction of it. More perplexed than ever, Ferb decided to wait till he reached the strange room at the bottom of the tube to try and come to any conclusions.

* * *

><p>Perry watched from around the side of the house as his plan went into action without a flaw. He could always count on the curiosity of his boys to help put his plans into action, without them even realising. He smiled to himself.<p>

Yet Perry couldn't help but wonder how Pinky was doing. He'd concluded that his best bet of getting the Fireside girls in was by Isabella bringing them in. They'd follow their leader anywhere due to their unquestioning faith in her, and it'd be easier than bringing them down to his headquarters one by one, each in separate plans.

Perry still had to figure out how to lure Buford and Baljeet into his lair. He decided a burger and a calculator on the end of a fishing rod would not only do the trick, but amuse him as well. He couldn't decide though whether to involve Irving. Though the boy would be unstoppable, due to being Phineas and Ferb's biggest fan-stalker, he'd probably end up pulling a Leeroy Jenkins at some point and screwing the plan up.

* * *

><p>Ferb's journey down the shoot came to an abrupt end, causing him to fall into a small chair in front of a rather large screen. Still, he'd made bigger in his years of inventing. Still, it felt strangely familiar, and not just from that time they found it as kids, almost as if he used to know what this place was…<p>

"Ferb Fletcher? Hello?" Ferb spun the chair around to be greeted by an old face, which had certainly changed a lot over the years.

"Carl? As in the Carl who helped out once?"

"Ah! So yeah remember me!" he smiled at the British teenager in front of him. Ferb simply nodded at him.

"Come with me Ferb Fletcher," Carl smiled at the confused young boy. He turned around and walked onto a panel into the middle of Perry's lair. Ferb couldn't resist the curiosity overtaking him, and followed the intern over.

"Carl, where am I?" he questioned as the panel hummed, and slowly lowered itself in the ground, revealing a large room underneath the lair. Carl just grinned at him and walked over to a giant laser situated at one end.

"Ferb, go and stand over there in front of the laser. By Isabella." Ferb spun round to see Isabella standing where Carl had pointed, so he slowly made his way over to her.

"Any idea why we're here?" Isabella asked.

"Nope, but I've got a real bad feeling that it's something to do with Phineas having gone missing."

* * *

><p>Perry had made his way down to the lair, then to the chamber below his lair, where Carl was getting ready to fire the 'Remembrance Ray' Monogram had had built in case of emergencies where memories had to be given back. Like this one.<p>

He stood behind the laser, listening to Ferb and Isabella whisper anxiously to one another, trying to figure out what was going on. Perry sighed as he looked down at the note in his hands. Major Monogram had argued that it would be the easiest way to get them up to date on the situation. Just give them the ransom note. Perry had tried as best as a platypus could to argue against it, trying to put across his point that it was wrong to just throw them in the deep end of the situation. But Monogram had stood firm, and ordered him down to the chamber they stood in now.

"Okay guys! We're ready to go! In 3… 2… 1!"

A hum filled the room, quickly followed by a bright light. Carl tried to shield his eyes by raising his arm in front of it. Perry quickly mimicked Carl, blinded by the ray. The humming slowly faded, and the light stopped, rather abruptly. Perry had to blink several times before he could see properly again.

"Oh…"

"My…"

"God!" the two teens declared in unison. They looked wide eyed at each other and then back at Carl, who just smiled sheepishly at them and shrugged his shoulders. Carl looked down to Perry, and nudged him forward with his hand. Perry growled before moving forward on his own.

"There's no time for that now. Agent P?" Perry turned and glared at Carl once more: the intern had supported Monogram's decision, what a suck up.

"Perry? What have you got?" Ferb asked, almost scared to let the words leave his mouth. He was almost certain that Phineas' disappearance was linked to getting his memory back now.

"Agent P retrieved this this morning. Ferb, Isabella, you've been given your memories back due to the severity of the situation. The OWCA need your help, and you need our help." Carl stated, though Ferb could see he was anxious for their reaction. The intern looked at the floor instead of looking them in the eyes.

Perry handed the note over to Ferb, and watched as the young boy froze; eyes etched with fear, his mouth wide open…

**A/N  
>Dun dun dun! So how will Ferb feel about them keeping this from him? How will he react to the fact that it's not only his brother gone, but his girlfriend too? And how will he tell his parents?<br>Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! Reviews are like author food!**


	5. Revelations

**A/N**  
><strong>I've been doing pretty well so far with this one a day thing, hooray! Just a pre-warning though. I may not be able to update over the weekend, as I have a lot of work to do, but I'll try my best! And Lent tomorrow, any of you guys doing lent this time? To the reviews!<strong>

**helloooo fanfiction : Thank you for your kind words! It's reviews like that that fuel me to write :D**

**taikopigeon: Teehee, thank you! I would give away hints, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone, if you get what I mean :)**

**Wii Guy: No problem! I think it's nice to communicate with readers, because they can help with ideas when you're stuck, and help you improve! And no problem, I don't hate on people who use Doof-2 as seeking revenge, but I wanted to vary away from that. Actually, I'd like to think of Doof-2 as quite like Doofenshmirtz, despite appearing evil, he actually a big softie. And no, I haven't, I'll have to check that out! Thank you!**

**MuchuFox: Thank you! And yes, I do feel like a bit of an evil writer at the moment haha, poor Ferb!**

**WordNerb93: Yeah, Ferb's very understanding in that sense, and with the memories back, he'll remember that they willingly gave up their memories up to keep Perry. That's actually a good idea for how Ferb will wriggle out of telling his parents – at least for now. And not wanting to give too much away, but yes, Isabella will find out about Pinky. Whether in Titanium or Heart of Courage though, I'm not sure. Thank you for the continuous reviews!**

Ferb stood trembling with that hellish little piece of paper in his hands. It was like all his worst days rolled together into one. Then a hell of a lot worse. He shook his head in denial, refusing to believe the tiny scrap of paper which told him Phineas hadn't gone missing: he'd been abducted. And not just Phineas, Vanessa too! He threw the note at the floor, then leant back against the wall behind him, slowly falling to the floor in a devastated mess.

"Please tell me this is just a joke," he choked out under his breath. "Please tell me this is just some crazy, sick joke and Phineas is going to walk out now, and be like, 'I got you good, bro!', and then it will all be behind us. Please…" He begged. Carl said nothing to comfort Ferb; he knew it'd do no help. But the hearing the young boy's sobs echo around the room killed Carl inside. Despite only having spent one real afternoon with him, Carl knew that Ferb was normally calm and collected. From what he could gather from their trip across the second dimension, facing his doom hadn't even fazed the British boy. But this... this was something else entirely.

Isabella didn't know how to react as she watched one of her best friends, the strongest one emotionally, collapse into a sorrowful heap, begging and pleading. And it scared her. She'd never seen Ferb like that before. Isabella picked up the note; Ferb paid no heed. She unfolded the crumpled piece of paper, and the moment her eyes came in contact with the threat, she felt sympathy for the boy next to her, and anger stronger than she'd ever felt before for the sick jerk who'd taken her Phineas away, for both Ferb and herself. Isabella wanted nothing more than to imitate Ferb, but she knew if she stood any chance on motivating the boy, she'd have to stay strong for him.

"Ferb Fletcher! Get up now! I know this is hard for you, but moping around isn't going to get Phineas and Vanessa back. You are! You'll have everyone backing you, and you'll have control of one of the greatest minds this world has ever been graced by, and trust me, by god do I know that nothing will stop you when you get started. And you know how I know that Ferb? Because your brother needs you! Your girlfriend needs you!"

Isabella's motivational speech confirmed with Perry he'd made the right decision in getting her on board. He knew that even through the hardest of times, she'd be able to successfully lead people and keep them strong, even when she was breaking on the inside herself.

"Carl! I want my team down here pronto! If anyone is going to co-ordinate our retaliation and rescue right, I can guarantee you it's my girls." Carl nodded at her, and motioned for Perry to get them, however hard it was. "And OWCA need to supply Ferb with whatever it is he needs. He's a genius, so if anyone is going to figure this out, he is, but I bet you already knew that from his files."

"Actually Isabella, we have someone who could help Ferb. You remember Dr. D, right? He's volunteered his help towards OWCA in this rescue mission. I can go and fetch him if you want. He's here now." Isabella nodded at Carl, and the intern took it as a yes.

The room was empty apart from her and Ferb; the sobs had died down to a quiet whimper. She looked down sympathetically at the boy. She knew how Ferb was feeling, and he probably had it ten times worse, knowing he was the reason his loved ones had been taken in the first place. It was hard enough for Isabella coming to terms with the fact that Phineas had been kidnapped, so she'd put on a tough external cover: her only way of reacting to emotionally straining situations.

"Thank you Isabella. A – And I'm sorry, I should've held myself together, it just came as such a shock. And it doesn't help when you've just been given back the memory of your pet being a secret agent. Fancy that, I'd never figured that's where Perry went over the years. Off to fight evil pharmacists. Though I guess he's not that evil. He's volunteered to help OWCA. And Perry's never come back hurt or late."

Isabella chuckled lightly at Ferb's attempt to lighten the situation; a welcomed sound in the bleak atmosphere of the room they were in at the moment. She knelt down by him and put her hand on his shoulder, then smiled.

"Don't worry Ferb, everything's going to be okay. I mean, you couldn't dream up a better alliance! A crime fighting platypus, a secret agency, an evil pharmacist, a young genius, a bossy girl, and a group of trained and utterly loyal Fireside girls! We'll be like one big family at the end of this!"

Ferb's expression quickly changed to one of fear as something terrifying dawned on him.

"Izzy, how the hell am I meant to tell Candace or our parents?" he said, his voice contorted with fear. Candace wouldn't hesitate to come down to Danville if she found out, missing some time in college, and hell, he'd feel almost sorry for the kidnapper if they had to deal with Candace's wrath after remembering just how much her alternate self was capable of when pushed. And his parents, they'd come home early; cancel their holiday which they'd been looking forward to since they'd booked it. Ferb shuddered at the thought of having to break the news.

"We'll deal with one hurdle at a time Ferb," she smiled at him, "But right now, it's time to get that brain of yours in gear, because we're going to need some sort o-"

Isabella was cut off by the door swinging open, revealing Carl, swiftly followed by Doofenshmirtz.

"You know, I'm still not happy about your little agency thinking they can go and just wipe my memory, and to think, with my own Inator!" the evil scientist shouted as he entered the room. Ferb bit his lip, then decided to announce his presence to his girlfriend's father.

"Hello sir…"

Doofenshmirtz's head snapped around to the source of the voice. He knew that Ferb was involved, but he didn't expect to see the boy here. He didn't expect OWCA to drag in people who didn't already know about them. Then he realised; Ferb did know about OWCA's existence, he'd just had that memory erased.

"I take it you remember everything?" Ferb nodded slowly. He didn't like the fact that Heinz was treating him with kindness, Ferb wanted more than ever at that point in time for the doctor to pull out one of his crazy inators, accusing Ferb of being a hooligan merely because Ferb dated his daughter. It would've made it all feel slightly more normal, running for his life, despite how non-normal it'd sound to anyone else.

Nobody spoke in the room, the shock and fear in the air seeming to muffle anything any of the inhabitants of the room would go to say. It felt like death was watching over them, savouring every unfavourable emotion present, and gorging itself on it.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean they're rallying up? If this is going to have to work, we need to bring Phineas, Ferb and Doofenshmirtz down!" A lone voice screamed out. A short chuckle shortly followed, then a cackle erupted.<p>

"I think I know just how to kill two birds with one stone…"

**A/N  
>We just had our first cameo appearance from the evil villain! And now you may start throwing tomatoes, and throwing chairs if you're like Khaka Peü Peü's wife!<br>Please review, and thanks for reading!**


	6. Infiltration

**A/N  
>So here we have chapter 5! Sorry if I'm boring you, but it's not long now until the action starts, and our antagonist gets to prove just how evil heshe/it is! Um, I have nothing pointless to waffle to you about today, so let's go to the reviews!  
><strong>  
><strong>NattyMC: You know, with all the chairs being thrown at herhim/it, I wouldn't be surprised if he/she/it has a few bruises for this chapter!**

**MuchuFox: I actually already have all the part already written out. Let me put it like this, that villain will be lucky to survive to the end of the story with the assault I bet the fan girls will launch! And Doofy does soften a bit to Ferb after a short talk, as you see a bit further down. And Isabella, well, what do I need say haha! She's a born leader!**

**Wii Guy: I have heard it actually, I love the part where Doof is like, was that Perry the Platypus, no, I must've just been mistaken… THAT'S PERRY THE PLATYPUS! But I didn't really get the idea from there, I figured that Doof wouldn't be happy about a younger boy dating his daughter, and seeing as that boy is competition in the inventing area, he wouldn't be too pleased at all. And dude, I'm so jelly at the moment of you and your grey fedora! But I have a fez like Perry from 'Temple of Juatchadoon', so it's all good :)**

**WordNerb93: You got him/her/it good! Right in the face! And yeah, they make quite a good team to support each other, and you don't get Ferb and Isabella friendship moments that often in the show. But as we shall see, when Ferb has an idea, he sticks with it, no matter how desperate the situation gets. And language? Not quite sure what you mean there, sorry :(**

**helloooo fanfiction: Thank you! And thank you for reviewing nearly every chapter!**

Perry realised that it'd probably be easier if Isabella brought them down to get their memories returned. They'd follow their long-time leader to hell and back, but he wasn't too sure on what the reaction would be to a fedora-wearing platypus that bore notes as his only form of communication.

Perry re-entered the room to be greeted by silence and tension. It was clear the other occupants were grateful for his return, it eased the tension slightly. He padded slowly over to Carl, then scribbled down a message on a notepad he'd fished out from under his fedora. He handed it over to Carl.

"Isabella, Perry thinks it'd better if you brought the Fireside girls in. He said he thinks they'd be more likely to follow their leader than a fedora-wearing secret agent platypus." Isabella realised that it was probably true: she'd be best at getting the Fireside girls in.

"How do I leave, Carl?" Carl raised his hand, and gestured for her to stand next to him. She walked over, still holding onto her steely façade. She stood still on the circular panel as it hummed and whirred, and slowly rose until Isabella and Carl were out of view, and a large metal rod supported where the panel had once been, appearing as a pillar to conceal the panel's existence.

Perry decided to slowly edge his way out of the room, leaving his nemesis and owner alone. He'd figured that they'd end up working together on inventions through this, and wanted them to start sooner than later. He knew they'd figure out that despite inventing being the one thing they had been threatened not to do anymore, it was the one thing which had the best chance of getting their loved ones back. But Perry also recognised that Doofenshmirtz didn't exactly like Ferb, but only because he dated his daughter, so Perry decided to stand by the door and listen in, just to be sure.

* * *

><p>Carl had drove Isabella to the Fireside Girl's clubhouse in OWCA's undercover ice cream van. The girls were hosting a meeting today to organise the annual Fireside Girls fundraiser, so Isabella didn't have to call an emergency meeting, raising suspicions.<p>

She flung the door open to declare her arrival, and all the sets of eyes fell upon the Fireside Girl's leader. A few eyebrows were raised to her absence of uniform, but all looks of confusion were cast away when Isabella opened her mouth.

"We have a level 5 emergency girls! It's time to get suited up, the fundraiser meeting can be postponed to a later date."

"What do you mean a level 5 emergency? We've never had anything of that scale in Danville Isabella, are you sure it's not just an over-reaction?" called out Gretchen. Adyson and Ginger immediately spun round and glared at her.

"Recite to me what is defined as both level 5 and level 6 as stated in the Fireside Girl manual, section 14, subsection D please, Gretchen."

"Umm, sure. Level 5 is kidnap, attempted murder and grievous body harm received by assault. Level 6 is, well, everyone knows what level 6 is... Murder…"

"Then let me put it into context Gretchen. We have a level 5 emergency; with a strong threat of a level 6." Isabella said bluntly. Her troops realised she really wasn't kidding when they realised that she was showing no emotion. The real Isabella was hidden away somewhere at the moment, supressing her emotions. Right now, they had a 'robot' Isabella.

The Fireside girls froze for a second, staring wide eyed and open mouthed at their leader. But as the urgency of the situation sunk in, they quickly flew into action again. Katie pulled a grappling hook from under one of their chairs; Milly flipped the switches, turning out the lights. The rest of the Fireside Girls moved swiftly around the room, picking up various objects from hiding spaces, until the room came to a standstill.

"Go, go, go! There's an Ice Cream van waiting outside!" The Fireside Girls followed Isabella's orders, and proceeded through the front door in single file. Carl was amused by just how like an army the Fireside Girls were. He laughed at the fact that they delivered cookies on a daily basis, yet looked like they could single-handedly bring down an empire.

The Fireside Girls jumped into the back of the undercover OWCA vehicle, whilst Isabella ran round to the front passenger next to Carl. She gave him a brief thumbs up, and Carl pressed his foot down on the acceleration.

The ice cream van quickly exceeded the speed limit, and Isabella noticed how calm Carl was, swerving across main roads at 60 mph, and figured it probably wasn't his first time driving at such a speed. It made sense, seeing to how long Carl had worked for OWCA.

* * *

><p>"Um, sir, why are you down here? Why did OWCA return your memories?" Ferb questioned, dying to break the silence which had quickly befallen the room again. He suddenly wished he hadn't asked Heinz, as Heinz gritted his teeth, and the anger that filled his eyes was beyond what Ferb had ever seen before, even that time when the evil scientist became convinced that his baby girl was pregnant, because of that, as Heinz put it, "green haired, womanizing hoodlum". Ferb still was a bit confused on the hoodlum terminology, as he hadn't heard it used all that often before meeting Heinz.<p>

"Some sick jerk has threatened to kill my baby unless I give up inventing. I want my baby girl back more than anything, but how I am to be sure that I'll get her back if I give up inventing? How do I know they won't just kill her?" He shouted. His voice trembled on the last few words, and Ferb realised that even though they were in the same situation right now, they'd only get through it supporting each other.

"Sir, I'm really very sorry, and I promise you that I will do whatever I can to bring Vanessa back to you, no matter what price I have to pay. But I believe that at the moment, we must work together. As much as I hate to dismiss the threat on Phineas and Vanessa's life, I believe our best shot sir, is to invent." Ferb felt uncomfortable talking so much, but with Phineas not around to do the talking, and nothing else about their current situation was normal in any sense, Ferb figured it was natural for him to talk so much. Fear was meant to effect different people in different ways.

"If you found my baby and brought her back safe, I wouldn't try to kill you if you got married the next day. Sure, you'd be a hoodlum again after a few months, but I'd know you knew how to treat her right, and that she was safe." Heinz smiled weakly at the green haired teenager in front of him. "And Ferb, it'd be an honour to work with you. But only this once! And I still don't forgive you for housing my nemesis!"

Ferb cracked a grin as he saw the Doofenshmirtz he knew coming through the emotions. He knew that the real doctor couldn't be held back for long, even in the face of fear and pain.

"Don't worry sir, I'll bring her back safe…"Ferb murmured under his breath. Heinz smiled at the little comfort that had escaped the boy's lips, but Ferb knew that it was more of a promise to himself than to Heinz. He would bring Phineas and Vanessa back safe.

* * *

><p>Perry smiled at the heartfelt discussion. As he'd hoped, they'd agreed to work together. Perry knew that the combined effort of the evil scientist whose brain overflowed with ideas and the British boy who was an inventing prodigy was one that surely couldn't go amiss.<p>

He allowed his tense body to relax, and slouched against the door. Perry was still worried sick, but he knew now that there was no way that the boy wasn't coming back with the team OWCA had help form. He decided to stroll along the hallways, leaving the two truly alone. Or so he thought…

Perry hadn't notice the increase in security cameras around OWCA headquarters…

* * *

><p>"This is brilliant! Thanks to you-" There was a slight pause "-OWCA can no longer pull any moves on us. We'll always be one step ahead! And now, I think it's time we crush the Flynn-Fletcher dup. And what a better way to deal with them than give Phineas front row seats to his brother's death…"<p>

**A/N  
>Dun dun dun! It appears we might have a mole in the agency!<strong> **Who could it possibly be? Well, thank you for reading, and please leave a review! I love reviews, whether they're just short and sweet, or long and fun! And leave a random word at the end of your review; I want to see how random you can get! **


	7. Leadership

**A/N  
>Sorry guys, but I won't be updating over the weekend, I've got too much work to be doing. But let me tell you this, on Monday is when the chapter where it starts getting exciting goes up! So not long left to wait!<strong>

**Wii Guy: Yup, I mean jealous! I tried, but it didn't quite work because I don't have a tail :( I did feel sorry for Doof, having his entrance shown up so much by his nemesis! And I cannot wait till Platypus Day, and the platypus dance! It'll be so completely awesome! And sorry, but the mole isn't actually a mole, though that would've been awesome! But I'm trying my best to stay to the shows characters only. And I think you should, though right now, she wants to get involved without any persuasion! Teehee. Good luck on your mission Agent WG!**

**taikopigeon: Oh god! I better tone it down a bit then, I don't want to kill my readers! That'd be awful and bad for the amount of reviews I get- I mean conscience! Thank you!**

**nostrils on the bus: Muahaha! You might be able to confirm your suspicions this chapter! Or maybe not… Hmm *rubs chin evilly* And I think it's everyone's reaction, at least mine too. I always declare I my head that Peter is involved in all things bad!**

**WordNerb93: Sure! He/she/it can have a few injuries, I'm sure you guys will be please you've injured the villain, and I live to please the readers haha! And just make sure you have enough chairs stocked up then. It's not ages away at the pace I'm uploading, but it's not super close either! Hmm, you'll find out in this chapter whether you know the mole or not! And I now love you for using Bazinga, I couldn't stop laughing as all I could think of was Sheldon popping up out of the ball pit shouting Bazinga!**

**helloooo fanfiction: Aww, that's nice of you! And yeah, that song fits so epically into that scene haha!**

**MuchuFox: Nope, certainly not good! And you might be, but I'm not sure some are! Or at least, prepared for the aftermath, injury, and possible death!**

Isabella stood before a team assembled in front of her, all their memories now intact. Though she didn't want to put her friends in danger, she also knew that their expertise in planning, co-ordination and tem work could prove invaluable in pulling through without any deaths. Just thinking the word death brought shudders to raven-haired girl, so she cast the demonic word to the back of her mind, and faced the people watching her intently.

She sat down in a chair at the end of a rather long conference table. The OWCA had lent them use of their facilities whilst the mission was on going. She glanced around the conference room. Monogram was whispering to Carl, and Perry was eavesdropping. Gretchen and Ginger talked tactics with each other, with the other Fireside Girls adding in suggestions occasionally. Buford was doodling different types of wedgies he could give to Baljeet, and Baljeet scribbled equation after equation down on a notepad. Ferb and Heinz sat silently at the opposite end of the room to Isabella, barely even moving. Monogram caught Isabella's eye: he was nodding and smiling at Carl.

"Isabella, before we start, there's one more addition to the team we'd like to recommend ourselves. I'm sure you two already know each other. Come in Agent P." The door swung open to reveal a dithering pink Chihuahua in a fedora. Isabella gasped as she'd realised it was her Pinky! She'd had her suspicions when she got her memories back, seeing as Pinky had a similar habit to Perry of disappearing for a good portion of the day, but thought nothing of it at the time. But now…

"Pinky! Of course sir! Oh my gosh! This is like, really awesome!" Isabella squealed, smiling so much her cheeks were beginning to ache. Pinky tipped his fedora to her, and took a seat in the empty spot next to Perry. Isabella squeaked inwardly, then took a deep breath, preparing to bring the rest of the assembled team up to date.

"You all you know that we are gathered here because we're currently in the middle of an emergency. Phineas and Vanessa have both been abducted by an unknown villain, who has apparent links with OWCA, with simple demands for Heinz and Ferb to stop inventing otherwise the missing will be killed. Major Monogram?" Isabella gestured for Monogram to take her place in front of the monitor behind her, and sat down.

"Due to the fact that the villain knows about OWCA, we're presuming this to be quite a dangerous situation. So, after discussion with Ferb and Isabella, you have all been allocated roles in this mission. Baljeet and Ginger are in charge of strategy, the rest of the Fireside Girls will be in control of all information incoming and outgoing in regards to this. Buford is to undergo training to act as muscle if needed in the field, and Agent Perry and Agent Pinky are to undergo further agent training to prepare them. Isabella will be taking full charge of the mission, and Heinz and Ferb will be inventing whatever they can that may prove useful. Fireside Girls, your database is two doors down the hall on the left. Baljeet and Ginger are free to use this room. Buford is to follow Agent P and Agent P, Isabella is to overlook, and Ferb and Heinz, feel free to use either our resources or your own in regards to inventing. Let's go!"

Each person in the conference room quickly departed to where they were off to, until Heinz, Ferb, Baljeet and Ginger were left. Baljeet was already scribbling away, and Ginger was happier than ever, thanking Isabella for fixing it for her even in such a desperate time.

"You know, we could always use my place for constructing. I make inators there every day!" Ferb frowned a little: he knew the scientist had a point; he had almost everything they could ever need there, along with lots of space and a brilliant view. But there was no way to know they weren't being spied on there. Ferb argued his point to Heinz, who simply nodded back at him.

"Why don't we use Perry the Platypus' base! I could get Norm to transport everything over here that we need, and we'll be all set! And it's still under OWCA supervision!"

"Then it's agreed then. We'll work in Perry's base." Ferb replied, his strong British accent still present in his speech. It confused Heinz to how he'd kept the accent so strong over the years, but he hadn't bothered asking. Though interesting, it wasn't that interesting.

"If you'll excuse me sir, I have a phone call to make." Heinz simply nodded as Ferb left the room, his mobile in hand. He gulped as he scrolled down the contact list until he came across the name he was after: Candace.

* * *

><p>Candace was in the middle of revising for her college class when the phone rang. She sighed, and went to get up, until she felt a small tap on her shoulder and his warm breath on her neck.<p>

"Don't worry dear, I'll get it," Jeremy said as he left the living room. Candace smiled. She felt so lucky to have Jeremy. He treated her like royalty, and had never said a bad word to her. She concluded that she was, by far, the luckiest girl in the world. Candace started tapping away on the keys again, shuffling through papers piled up on the table.

"Candace!" he heard Jeremy shout, "It's Ferb! He said he needs to talk to you, and it's urgent!" She groaned as she stood up, and slowly made her way over to the phone in the kitchen. She figured it was probably something daft and completely Phineas and Ferb-ish, like they'd built a rocket, but couldn't figure out what would be the best fuel for it, and so called her, despite her major being in music.

"I'm here. Pass him over," she grumbled.

"Here you go Ferb." He covered the microphone end of the phone and murmured aside to her, "Be gentle with him babe, he sounds really worried." Candace simply nodded and took the phone from Jeremy.

"Hey Ferb, what's up?" she said, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt. Candace was absolutely shattered from night after night awake, studying for college, and couldn't be bothered to deal with some silly little problem her brothers could have. But something tugged inside her. Ferb was the man of action, Phineas was the chatty one, so why was Ferb calling? She dismissed it quickly, shaking her head.

"Umm, Candace, I really don't know how to say this, but… um…"

"Just spit it out Ferb, please," she said. Would he just hurry up and get this over with? She had things to be doing right now.

"Umm, Phineas has, well, he's been… kidnapped…"

Candace's eyes shot open when she heard what Ferb said. Surely he didn't say that! She shook her head, trying to convince herself she'd heard her brother wrong.

"What did you say?" Her voice sounded far more panicked than she intended. She must've heard him wrong… There's no way that's what he said, she tried to convince herself. But deep down, she knew it was true. Her heart hurt, and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"I said, Phineas has been… kidnapped…" he mumbled again. Candace let her emotions out, bursting into tears, her sobs loud and pained. Jeremy ran in the kitchen to find his fiancé on the floor, crying her eyes out. He held her tight in his arms, and hugged her as much hugged the phone.

"We'll be there tomorrow Ferb…"

* * *

><p>It pained Ferb deeply to hear his sister so upset. He and Candace were much closer than most people realised. He didn't regard her as a step-sister of whom he had no biological ties to, no, in his eyes, Candace was his biological sister. And although Ferb already hurt unbearably inside, it pained him just a little bit more to hear his sister break down on the phone.<p>

Ferb looked out the window, watching as the last rays of the sun were eradicated by the horizon. As much as he didn't want to leave, he knew he'd have to be awake and alert for tomorrow, when he and Heinz would begin drawing up blueprints. He walked slowly down the hallway he knew lead to Perry's base from the route he had memorized, and took the tree elevator up into the back yard he and Phineas had shared so many memories with. A single tear rolled down his cheek, glimmering in the moonlight as he smiled weakly, remembering how they'd conquered the impossible time and time again in this very backyard.

Ferb walked into the house, and wiped away the lone tear hanging on his cheek. Perry would be back anytime soon, and he didn't want his pet to see him break down twice in one day. He took a glass of water up to bed with him, and placed it on the night stand next to his bed. He fell onto his bed, not even bothering to change, and curled up in a tight ball, wishing his dream would take him away from this harsh reality, even for a short period of time.

* * *

><p>When Perry reached Ferb's bedroom after being briefed on what his new crash course training would cover, he smiled to see Ferb had fell asleep without even getting changed. The platypus chattered lightly so not to wake Ferb, and climbed up into bed next to him, snuggling next to the young boy. Little did he notice the short figure outside the window, wearing a fedora very similar to his…<p>

**A/N  
>So you guys should now know who the mole is, and if not, look at the reviews. It's not too hard to realise who is everyone's favourite agent to hate! Well, I'm out! Please leave a review, even if it just says cheese!<strong>


	8. Drugged

**A/N  
>So most of you know who our mole is now! Only a lovely little panda we all love to hate! But theirs is a twist coming up in regards to that! Anyways, I was meant to post this yesterday, but I was supporting one of my friends at his band's first gig, so yeah. Onto the reviews! And please leave one!<strong>

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Aww, thank you! It means a lot!**

**MuchuFox: Peter might be expected, but is his motive why? We'll be finding out about that over the next few chapters :)… And yeah, Candace, though playing a role in this one, is far more significant in the follow-up story, Heart of Courage!**

**helloooo fanfiction: It is very dun dun dun-ish over the next few chapter, up until around chapter 18 I think!**

**Wii Guy: Is he? I never actually knew that, I went with pink, what with his name, and the fact that he actually looks quite pink-ish, but thank you for that :) And yeah, I figured that because she's always seemed to really enjoy music in the show, and expressing herself through it, that it'd be perfect. And I've read your story, it's really awesome! Can't wait for you to write some more. Good luck, Agent WG!**

**WordNerb93: Though I did hate Peter in the episode where he took over from Perry, I actually have to agree with you. The thing is, there is a twist with involving Peter coming up, which should help explain why he is doing everything. And yay for injuring evil villains whom everyone hates! And I might need to borrow those Norm-bot blueprints off you for Heart of Courage, or at least Dr D will ;) SPOILERS! And yes, I almost died of laughter in that episode. Crazy Sheldon is funny Sheldon, but I bet Leonard doesn't agree!**

**Sierra-275: It isn't Dennis the rabbit, but he will be seen on the bad guys side in the plot line :) Tanks for the review!**

**Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you!**

_"You could never save them Ferb," a voice mocked through the darkness, echoing in Ferb's mind, "What are you without Phineas? You're nothing. You're worthless. You're pathetic!"_

_Ferb stood, unable to move as the person's words cut through his heart, like a thousand tiny daggers, stabbing again and again, not enough to kill, but enough to leave Ferb in emotional agony. He knew the words were true. He was nothing without his brother. They were the Flynn-Fletcher duo, not the Fletcher one-man show. So he let them cut at him. And when the hooded figure walked forward dragging Phineas, a gun pressed against his temple, Ferb could do nothing. The emotions had incapacitated him physically. He fought to free himself from his minds grip, to lunge at the beast standing in front of him and bestow hell upon him. But he couldn't. All Ferb could do was watch as the thing pulled the trigger, killing what was left of his battered brother._

_The moment the gun shot sounded, Ferb incapacitation vanished. He ran forward towards his brother, and hugged him in his arms. He wept and prayed for a miracle, prayed his brother wasn't dead. He tried to speak, but his words were muffled by his sobs. The figure slowly dissipated into the air, but Ferb ignored it. He would bring justice to it another time, but now, now was his to mourn. He desperately searched for a pulse in vain, but nothing was there. He was dead…_

_He was dead…_

Ferb shot up right in his bed, tense and sweating with his eyes wide open. Perry was awoken by the movement, and quickly stood protectively in front of his owner, his fists raised high; presuming Ferb had heard a noise. When Ferb realised he was in his bedroom, he allowed his body to relax slightly. It was just a bad dream…

"It was just a bad dream Perry, a really bad dream," he murmured to the Platypus stood in front of him, rubbing the secret agent's back slowly. Perry visibly relaxed, lowering his fists and slouching slightly from his upright stance. Ferb glanced at the clock next to him. 3:16 am. He sighed and climbed out of bed, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep with the image of his dead brother etched into his mind.

Ferb slowly descended down the stairs, still lethargic. He made his way round to the kitchen, stretching his arms, when he came across a note taped on the fridge. Curiously, he leaned in, squinting his eyes.

There is no-where we can't see you Ferb.  
>We asked for one simple thing, now there's<br>a price to pay.

Ferb froze, his heart thumping faster than ever. No-where was safe anymore. He quickly raised his hand in front of his gaping mouth, the boy in a state of shock.

* * *

><p>"Perry…" The platypus's head rose at the sound of his name. He could've swore he heard the tinge every British accent has, but dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him from lack of sleep and the recent shock.<p>

"PERRY!" Perry jumped when he heard his name called a second time. Ferb's voiced was definitely more than a little panicked. The teal agent ran down the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him, his mind focused. He caught a flash of green in the kitchen, so he ran in, his fists rose, prepared for combat.

The semi-aquatic mammal felt hands close around his waist, so he tensed himself and swung around to come face to face with a very terrified looking British boy. Perry allowed Ferb to lift him up and turn him around, until Perry's eyes came in contact with a note taped onto the fridge. Like the last one, it was composed of newspaper cuttings.

Perry snatched it in one of his hand/paws and jumped out of Ferb's grip. He ran into the living room, and shifted the painting above the settee to the side, revealing a tunnel. Ferb recognised it as the one him and Phineas used during the Robot Riot, and followed his platypus into it. Ferb was pulled down by powerful air currents which made him feel quite sick, and he began to wish they'd taken the tree elevator instead.

Perry ran forward towards his desk and hit the emergency button, starting up the red flashing lights and alarms again. It took a few minutes before Carl emerged on the screen, shortly followed by a Monogram with messy hair. Monogram yawned and ran a hand through his hair, before turning to look at his best agent.

"What is it… Agent P?" He questioned groggily, "Can't this wait till morning?"

Perry shook his head furiously and held up the newest note for his superior and Carl to see.

"Is that another ransom note, Perry?" Carl was beginning to show signs of worry, and Perry could tell that the intern was clearly more awake than his superior. Ferb stood beside Perry, nodding slowly.

"Come down into headquarters, we'll lower the panel for you," Carl said, rather rushed. The intern had to think quickly due to his superior, the one who usually took charge, still being quite out of it at something past 3 in the morning.

"Read it, Carl," Ferb growled through gritted teeth. He was beginning to get annoyed at the incompetence of the agency. Carl looked quite shocked at Ferb's reaction, but read the note anyway. Monogram simply continued to yawn.

"Nowhere… can't see… simple thing… price to pay… Wait a second! They know what we're doing? Sir! I think we have a mole in the agency!" Carl shouted, startling Monogram who stood next to him.

"Well, of course we do Carl, Agent M…" he replied. Ferb was getting increasingly impatient with the so-called boss of this department.

"Not that kind of mole sir," he muttered to Monogram, "I mean, the type who feeds information to the enemy!" Monogram was shocked into awareness.

"What? A mole? Carl, station a free agent with Ferb at all times, as well as Agent P. And I'll go call in the rest of the team. If there's a mole here, in somewhere with top of the range security, then we have no way on ensuring safety except by keeping groups of people together."

* * *

><p>Shortly after the two on the screen had left, the floor panel had lowered, and risen again with a fedora-wearing panda stood on it. Perry saluted at Peter, though slightly confused as to why the day-time agent was in so early, and Peter saluted back. He walked forward towards Ferb and Perry, holding two glasses of water. Ferb took his and smiled thankfully at the agent. He'd been dying for some water. Perry received his, but as Peter came closer, Perry couldn't help but notice how his fedora looked off. Mechanical, even…<p>

Ferb sat down in the chair in front of the giant screen, and took a sip from his glass, whilst both Perry and Peter paced up and down the base. He started to feel drowsy again, and blamed it on his lack of sleep. That was, until he dropped his glass of water, and all his muscles slowly felt like they were locking, freezing in place. He couldn't move.

Perry noticed Ferb drop the glass, and didn't cast two looks until the boy didn't move to pick it up. Or move at all in fact. The platypus ran over to his owner's position and jumped on his lap, tapping Ferb's cheek lightly with his paw, then slightly harder. He was still awake, but only just.

Ferb tried to fight against the black curtain trying to cover his eyes, to focus on the teal secret agent in front of him, but he couldn't. In the end, he gave in, and allowed the black curtain to cover over him. It was as light faded before him that he realised.

He had been drugged.

Peter was the mole.

**A/N  
>I'm off to hide now! Leanne is out till Monday!<strong>


	9. Plotting

**A/N  
>I know I said I wouldn't post again till Monday, but I couldn't help it, so here you go guys! The longest chapter yet :) And onto the reviews :)<strong>

**NattyMc: Yus, I couldn't resist having a bit of daft Monogram in there. The story begged for it haha!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Oh, you'll want to do more than curse him after this one, and here you go! Chapter 8!**

**WordNerb93: Trust me, it's a good reason. One with a keen eye may be able to start piecing it together from this chapter heehee. And yus, die villain, die! And thank you! I love NattyMc's stuff, always so random and funny, they never fail to make me laugh, and lucky! I'd love to slap Alt. Doof! And really, you didn't get mauled to death by fangirls because of that? I probably didn't need to hide last chapter chapter, but as the story progresses, I better get good at hide and seek!**

**writer-person2: Thank you!**

**Wii Guy: I've just started reading What Makes an Agent, and I love it haha. And I've sent you a message about Heart of Courage, but just to clarify to anyone else who might read this, it is the story which will follow on from this one, Titanium, and go more in depth with the plot. And I'm really loving your story because it shows a new side of Candace, which is actually a very friendly side. And have fun Platypus Walking!**

**Radar180: We shall see in this chapter just what Peter has in mind ;) And no problem. Thank you! From seeing how Perry reacts whenever his owners get involved on the show, I figured he is extremely protective of them**

**Gleee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you!**

**taikopigeon: I'm sorry, I got scared by fangirls! And I have? Sorry, none were intended, so if they are there, it's accidental or subconscious. But I gotta admit, you Kidnapped is one hell of a good story :)**

**Sierra-275: Ooh, well, I could tell you, but I ruin the surprise now wouldn't I?**

**MuchuFox: Well, you need wait anxiously no longer! And thank you very much!**

Perry's head snapped to the rogue agent when his owner's head fell to the side. Ferb was unconscious, and whatever the hell Peter had in mind didn't matter to Perry. The platypus narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists as a growl rose from his throat. Peter eyed the agent carefully. Perry's motive and movements were savage and animalistic, driven by revenge and a strange paternal instinct he felt over his boys. Peter had helped abduct Phineas and Vanessa, and now he'd drugged Ferb. Perry wouldn't care if there was a thick sheet of steel separating him and Peter, he'd bestow his revenge upon the agent.

Peter jumped at Perry, his movements rather jolty, but still far better than Perry recalled Peter ever was. Almost as if he was being controlled. But the thoughts were quickly replaced with tactic after tactic, and Perry jumped up and landed a punch in the panda's face, knocking him off his course towards Perry and Ferb. Perry readied his stance as Peter stood back up from the blow, seemingly unfazed. Perry glared at Peter, his eyes appearing void and emotionless.

Peter lunged at Perry with strength the panda shouldn't have possessed, pinning the semi-aquatic mammal to the floor. Perry wriggled desperately, trying to push Peter off the top of him. Peter punched Perry hard in the bill, making him grunt in pain, his wriggling becoming more frantic. He managed to catch Peter off guard and the panda's back leg with his tail, throwing the rogue agent off balance.

Perry used the opportunity to escape from Peter's grip, and dove backwards, putting distance between him and the panda, but staying in front of Ferb at all times. He growled, slightly weaker than last time, and re-assumed a protective stance in front of the boy. He could taste blood in his bill, but disregarded it, having tasted blood many times before in battle.

Peter ripped a pipe running along the floor, and grabbed it with both paws, grinning sadistically at the platypus, the only sign Peter had shown so far of not being robotic. He charged at Perry with a glint in his eye, and the platypus braced himself, prepared to take any measure of pain to keep his boy safe. The pipe made contact with Perry side, with immense strength, with a crack. A horrible crack. Perry went flying into the wall, leaving a dent, and fell to the floor. He was panting and grunting in pain, but he stood up again, shaking and clutching his injured side.

Peter smiled at him once more, pure evil emanating from him. He walked towards the unconscious British boy, holding the pipe high above his head. Perry charged with every last bit of strength he had left, and hit Peter in the stomach head first, then landed multiple punches, but the panda never fell, or showed any signs of pain. Perry's eyes widened as Peter held the pipe back once more, readying a shot, and hit the platypus in his already broken ribs. Perry eyes shot open as Peter's blow forced him to the ground, but the pain was too much for him to bear with, and the light slowly faded till he was left in nothingness.

Peter simply smiled and left the Perry's base.

* * *

><p>Carl stood with the team on the rising panel below Perry's base half an hour later. They were set to meet at the conference room, but when he couldn't contact Perry or Ferb, he decided to move the meeting to Perry's base. The Fireside Girls yawned and chatted quietly, still unaware of why they'd been called in, as were all the team. Carl looked around anxiously when water dripped from the floor in Perry's lair. The panel slowly clicked and hummed, rising at snail's pace. It finally stopped and locked in place, leaving them in the midst of the earlier battle.<p>

Carl gasped. Perry lay battered and unconscious in a small pile of rubble, Ferb slouched limply in the Perry's chair, Peter was nowhere to be found, and there was a puddle at the bottom of the steps, water flowing from what looked like a broken pipe. Heinz and the Fireside girls ran to tend to Perry, after assessing he was the most injured. Heinz picked him up gently in his arms whilst mumbling under his breath curses to the culprit. Isabella, Baljeet and Buford ran to Ferb, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state. After a few minutes, Buford picked the British boy up, and started moving slowly towards Carl, being careful not to jolt Ferb. Isabella moved across to her troop and Heinz.

"How is he?" she asked. Heinz looked at her, his eyes glistening.

"Bad. Very bad. All his ribs on the one side are broken; some appear to be broken in multiple places." Isabella winced, and stroked the platypus's head softly. Perry purred softly from his unconscious state, though his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Come on. We've got to get him seen to immediately," she replied to the scientist. He nodded solemnly and followed her back towards Carl, where Buford had already reached with the green-haired boy over his shoulder.

"Sir!" Carl shouted into a watch on his wrist as he set the panel in motion again. "Sir!" He shouted again, both impatient and anxious.

"I'm here Carl! Calm yourself!" came the reply from his watch.

"Sir, Perry and Ferb have been attacked. We need two beds in OWCA's medical bay!" The panel clicked in place, and Carl gestured at the group behind to follow him down the corridors.

"What? Great googly moogly, okay, I'll get the word across to the medical bay. You'll be expected. How bad are the injuries?"

"All of Perry's ribs on the one side appear broken, some in multiple places. Ferb just appears unconscious, but we don't know. I think he was drugged." Doofenshmirtz replied before Carl had the chance to.

"And Peter?"

"Peter was nowhere to be found sir. I've got a feeling he was the mole." Carl replied, rather quickly, so no-one could but in. He made a swift turn to the left down another corridor.

"Okay… Okay, Monogram out."

The pounding footsteps of the team echoed down the hallways as they raced towards the OWCA medical wing. Each hallway seemed the same to Isabella, but she trusted Carl's instinct, knowing he'd worked here for ages, so he probably knew his way around the maze of rooms and corridors.

"Almost there…" he muttered under his breath as they raced through the endless hallways. He took a sharp left turn, and everyone behind him mimicked Carl. He came to a set of double doors and pushed his way through. Baljeet looked around, presuming all the lighter colours indicated it was the medical bay. Carl raced across to the counter, panting out of breath.

"We're here… Monogram should've called… ahead. Perry and Ferb…" The lady nodded at him then pointed behind her.

"Straight down, second door on the left. There are two doctors waiting, and two beds." Carl thanked her quickly, then gestured for the cluster of people at the door to follow him again. Heinz and Buford took the lead, carrying Ferb and Perry, then Isabella with Pinky and Baljeet alongside her, with the Fireside Girls bringing up the back.

Carl stopped and pointed at the room to the side of him. Buford and Heinz quickly entered, and Baljeet and Isabella stood in the doorway watching anxiously. Buford lay Ferb down gently, and left the room silently to stand by Isabella and Baljeet. Heinz anxiously handed Perry over to the doctor, scared that if he put the platypus down in the wrong position, he'd just cause his frenemy more pain than he was already in. Heinz left after being ushered out by the other doctor.

"I'm sorry, but you'll all have to leave. Feel free to wait in the waiting room just around the corner. We'll be around soon." The doctor who'd shepherded Heinz out the room said. Carl started to walk slowly towards where the doctor had spoken of and the rest slowly followed.

* * *

><p>Ferb shot up in his bed, his head jolting around. He couldn't figure out where he was, and started to panic. The heart monitor began bleeping faster and faster, until a doctor ran into the room. He glanced across at the boy who was sitting upright in his bed.<p>

"Where am I?" Ferb growled at the doctor, his glare venomous. "Where are Vanessa and Phineas?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Ferb, please, settle down. You're in a hospital. I'm a doctor." The doctor said calmly, trying to reason with him.

"Why the hell am I in a bloody hospital? I'm not injured!" He shouted, still suspicious of the man in the doorway. His vision was still quite blurred, so he couldn't make anything out properly.

"You and Perry were attacked. You were drugged, so you fell unconscious, and Perry, well, Agent P is badly hurt Ferb…"

"How badly?" Ferb's voice softened a bit as he remembered drinking the water, and slowly feeling paralyzed.

"All his ribs are all broken in at least one place each. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but we'll probably end up sedating him again when he wakes up to help with the pain…"

"Where is he?" Ferb's heart rate monitor started to rise again, beeping faster and faster. His memories from before falling unconscious were slowly coming back. All he could remember was some panda had given him the drugged drink.

"He's been taken to a separate room, in a more intensive division of the medical bay-"

"Take me to him." Ferb stood up, pulling all the wires off himself, until he was completely devoid of wires and IVs.

"I don't think that's a go-"

"I said, take me to him." Ferb said again, firmer. He took a few steps, slightly wobbly on his feet, but quickly got the hang of walking again, and closed the distance between him and the doctor, towering over the man in the doorway by a good few inches.

"Of-of course sir." Ferb followed the doctor, who led the way through the corridor. Doctors watched the green haired boy in amazement, murmuring between themselves, of how he shouldn't be conscious again yet, the drug was meant to have knocked him for a few days, and yet within a matter of hours he'd recovered.

The doctor quickly swerved around a corner, and Ferb followed intently. They stopped at a door, and the doctor stepped aside. Ferb slowly opened the door, to be greeted with a sight that tugged at his already sore heartstrings.

Perry was surrounded by machines he was hooked up to. The platypus looked tiny, swamped with machines and wires. His side was completely covered in bandages, and even in his sleep, Perry's face was scrunched up in pain.

"We've checked him over, and there's no internal bleeding. The broken ribs didn't puncture anything, so he was lucky there, but he probably won't be able to move without immense pain for the next few days. I'm sorry Ferb, but Perry isn't going to be able to help in the field."

It all clicked at once then. They hadn't targeted Perry purely to get at him, his brother and Heinz. No, they'd planned it all out. With OWCA's best agent unable to take part in any kind of physical confrontation, the rescue mission was less likely to succeed.

And it was then Ferb knew. It wasn't just about getting his brother and girlfriend back safely now. It was revenge too…

* * *

><p>"So, what did you think of Peter's little performance, eh?" a voice echoed, mockingly as the light from the screen faded.<p>

"I think you're sick! And mark my words, if Ferb doesn't get you, I will!" another voice shouted back. It was filled with anger, but it was obvious that the voice was starting to lose hope, and tinged with confusion as to why the platypus on screen was so skilled in fighting. Platypus' didn't do much, di they?

"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport. Next, it'll be your brother…"

**A/N  
>I think you'll be able to figure out who the conversation at the end was between. Muahahaha! And poor Perry! Oh gosh, will he recover quickly enough? Or will it be too late? Please drop a review, and thanks for reading!<strong>


	10. Addition

**A/N  
>I feel so bad hurting Perry so much. He just so adorable I don't want to hurt him! Um yeah, I have nothing to say, except tomorrow's chapter is where it all really starts. I mean it really REALLY starts! This story's climax build up starts properly tomorrow! Eep! Onto zee reviews!<strong>

**Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you!**

**BroadwayFanGril91: It hurt me so much to write that scene! And I'd gladly let you heal him, only the fact that he's injured is quite important later on! And here is your update!**

**NattyMc: Don't we all! Though I'm not sure everyone wants to run him over twice, with a 16-wheeler, but you can!**  
><strong>Peter: Dude, why? I have my reasons! I swear!<strong>

**MuchuFox: Ooh! Let's see if your prediction is right *rubs a crystal ball* I don't know, I'm hyper today, I just did my last French speaking, thank lord!**

**writer-person2: I know right! The poor little fella!**

**Sierra-275: They will be defeated, but the question is, at what price… Gah, I feel so evil today :/**

**helloooo fanfiction: That's fine aha! Thanks you for all the reviews anyway :) And I know! Poor Perry!**

**WordNerb93: Hmm, we shall see if you're right as the story goes on. If I'm right, you'll find out what Peter's reason is in two chapters time! And I know right, poor kid aha. Why would I tell you who the villain is? Wouldn't that ruin the fun? And hell! I know I said I'd give him injuries for you, but please don't kill him! I need him for the rest of Titanium and Heart of Courage! Don't kill him, no matter how strong the urge! Ah, I hope I have the luck of you then, but I'm not so sure, for if anyone die hard fangirls catch wind of this, well, I'll be dead!**

**Wii Guy: That's our evil dude being all like don't rain on my parade-ish! I make him out to be so egotistical! And I won't tell you, I won't tell anyone anything other than annoying hints haha! And no problem, I think your story is brilliant and can't wait till the next chapter!**

As he stood over the platypus, torn beyond belief, he remembered Candace was set to be coming down today. She only lived a few hours away, so she could arrive anytime. Ferb spun around to face the doctor, waiting on him in the doorway.

"What time is it?" He questioned, unintentionally looking down on the man in front of him. Ferb didn't bother ask how Perry was: he'd already figured it out by glancing over the heart monitor and charts on display. He was in a bad state, but he'd live. Ferb decided that he'd give whoever was responsible Perry's share of beatings as well.

"Just after 11, sir."

"Where's Carl?" The doctor felt nervous, like he was being interrogated. Ferb's now calm demeanour didn't help the doctor settle down, so he simply fidgeted a bit.

"Carl, along with everyone else who came for you, is waiting just down the hall, third door on the right." Ferb nodded, and wasted no time in moving towards the room the doctor had pointed out to him. If the culprits were willing to beat Perry within an inch of his life, just for helping, then they had work to do to ensure everyone's safety.

* * *

><p>Deep breaths. Short breaths. He couldn't see anything around him, but he sure as hell could hear everything around him.<p>

"Wh-Who's there?" he shouted, though his voice quivered slightly in case it was of _his _henchmen.

The breathing stopped for a moment, and his heart pounded faster than ever. What if they were coming for him? What if this was it? What if it was a rescue attempt? Question after question raced through his mind until a voice broke the silence.

"Phineas?" She gasped. Why the hell was he here? She thought she was just some bargaining key to get something off her dad. Some of his inventions could be very useful, or very devastating, depending whose hands they fell into.

"Vanessa?" If he wasn't blindfolded, his eyes would've visibly widened. Why would she be here? He thought it was just some sort of jealousy plot to get Ferb, and consequently him to stop inventing. What role could Vanessa have in that?

* * *

><p>All eyes fell upon Ferb as he walked through the waiting room door. Some looked confused, some shocked, and some sad. Baljeet blinked several times: Ferb shouldn't be awake yet, it defied all logic. He raised his finger and opened his mouth to point it out, but realised that whether he should be conscious again yet or not was irrelevant. He was conscious, and that was that.<p>

"Ferb, are you alright?" Isabella asked her neighbour worriedly. She feared that the fact that he'd awoken so quickly might come with repercussions or maybe the doctors hadn't told them something.

"I'm fine. But there's something I've realised," he paused until everyone paid him attention. "Guys, the attack was a tactical move. They attacked Perry to make us weaker. They know us inside out. No-one is safe anymore." Once Ferb had stated it, Carl realised how blatantly obvious it was. Perry was their best opposing weapon, and by the looks of it, whoever they were against had everything planned out very well, and had the resources to do whatever the hell they wanted.

"What do you mean, no-one is safe?" Baljeet shouted, slightly panicked.

"I mean, no-one is safe. From now on, we're going to have to stick together in groups. I'll be fine, Candace is coming over with Jeremy." The Fireside girls giggled excitedly in the face of the situation. It gave them an excuse for an extended sleepover, no matter the reason why. Isabella and her troop clustered together.

"Nerd, you're with me!" Baljeet looked fearfully up at the bully, who was preparing to hold the Indian teenager under his arm, a habit he hadn't grown out of. Buford caught Baljeet's confused and rather fearful look. "What? I care for you, you know!" Baljeet sighed, and gave in, allowing the bully to scoop him up under his arm.

"Pinky, you're going to be stopping with Doctor D and Norm for now, okay?" Pinky looked annoyed up at his owner. Pinky had no idea how Perry managed to put up with the evil scientist and his never ending rambling, and wondered how he would survive being with Heinz non-stop. He growled inwardly and walked over to the scientist, who scooped him up in his arms.

"Aren't you a little cutie! But don't think about replacing Perry the Platypus! You ought to have seen how he reacted when Peter was my new nemesis! And then Peter went all…" Ferb glared daggers at Heinz, who gasped when he remembered that it was because of Peter that OWCA was infiltrated. "Oh yeah… Um, I'll shut up now…" he mumbled slowly.

"I need to go meet Candace." Ferb left the room, leaving them to sort out their sleeping arrangements properly, without waiting for any reply. He cast a worried glance back towards Perry's room, letting his calm façade slip once he was out of view. It felt like his whole world was being torn apart bit by bit, like the emotional wings that had always held him so high above all those negative feelings were being torn off. Like he was losing everything, and he wouldn't be able to get it back.

* * *

><p>Jeremy pulled up on the Flynn-Fletcher driveway he remembered so well, from all his times picking Candace up for dates. He would've smiled at the feeling of nostalgia, had they been there for more positive reasons. The moment the car stopped, Candace flew out the car and up to the door she used to live behind. Her knuckle's hit the door in a flurry, and then she pressed the doorbell anxiously.<p>

Jeremy walked up beside her after locking the car, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, in an attempt to comfort. Candace pressed the doorbell again, and knocked harder on the door. She started to fidget nervously with her hands. She looked up at Jeremy, tears brimming in her eyes. Concerns tugged at her mind continuously.

"What if Ferb's gon-" She was cut off mid-sentence when the front door swung open. The tall British boy stood in the doorway, his green hair a ruffled mess, his eyes slightly red, lined with dark circles underneath them.

"FERB!" Candace launched herself at the teenager with her arms wide open, knocking him to the ground. He returned the embrace, glad for the comforting hug. Jeremy smiled and felt his own eyes sting a little with tears at the sibling display of affection. He knew how Candace was worried sick about both her brothers after she'd found out. Mostly about Phineas, with him being the one missing, but she held her fair share of concern for Ferb to, on how he was coping, or if he'd be targeted. Jeremy recalled how after the phone call, she just got up and packed enough for a few weeks, still in denial, hoping that it was some kind of sick, twisted joke she could bust her brothers for.

"Candace…" he mumbled softly, biting his lip to stop the tears from starting. He'd missed his sister an awful lot, and as much as he didn't want to involve her, and consequently put her in danger, he desperately wanted her there. He didn't know why, maybe so he could see her safe with his own eyes. He figured it'd push him further to protect all his family. He released his hold around Candace, and they slowly stood, maintaining the eye contact.

"Um, Ferb, where's Perry?" she wondered aloud, curious as to where the little monotreme had wandered off to. Not that it wasn't like him, but she felt an urge to speak the line that she'd heard every day as a young girl. Ferb frowned at her question, though she could see the anger burning in his eyes. She'd never seen her calm brother so… emotional before.

"Long story. Perry ended up in hospital, a special hospital." He said, his tone devoid completely of emotion.

"How?"

"We were attacked…" he mumbled, just loud enough for Jeremy and his fiancé to hear. Jeremy picked up on the 'we', but Candace seemed to not notice.

"Is he okay? Who would even-"

"Candace, he said we…" Jeremy butted in. Candace glanced at him at first, shocked at his interruption. But as what he said dawned on her, she turned slowly back to Ferb, looking him up and down in concern.

"Y-you said we… What do you mean, we?" Ferb frowned again at her questioned, then walked around Jeremy to lock the door. He looked around quickly, his brow furrowed, then gestured for them to follow him.

"Follow me. I need to take you somewhere first, then I'll tell you everything. It'll make much more sense…"

* * *

><p>Carl agreed with Ferb's decision to restore Candace and Jeremy's memories. Now they were here, there was no way that they could truly understand what was going on without memories of Perry, and Dr D. Ferb sat Candace down whilst Carl and Jeremy went exploring OWCA headquarters. He told her everything: that Vanessa had been taken as well, that OWCA was involved because the villain knew of them, making everything considerably more dangerous, that all of their friends had banded together to form a rescue team, that Perry was hospital after a tactical attack. Candace cried into Ferb's shoulder when she started to grasp just how badly it could end, that it wasn't just another hostage situation where they wanted money. She vowed to help in whatever way possible, knowing just what she was capable of after remembering her alternate self.<p>

"What are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" she asked, her voice still shaky and on the verge of breaking under the tidal wave of emotions again.

"I don't know. I don't think 'Phineas has been abducted, and all that's left behind is a demand for me to stop inventing. But don't worry; a top secret agency that employs animal agents is taking control of it, which by the way, our pet platypus is enrolled in. But he's in hospital at the moment after being targeted' will quite cut it." Candace let out a weak laugh at how crazy it all sounded when put in simple terms, but then again, she'd been raised in the land of crazy, what with her brothers inventing the impossible more or less every day.

"On a more serious note, though, I don't want to get them involved. I don't want to put them in danger. I already feel awful involving you in this. If anything were to happen to you, I-I'd never forgive myself…" Candace squeezed his shoulder, and looked into his eyes.

"Ferb, I'm glad you involved me. I don't care if I'm in danger, I'm doing this so we can all pull through as a family unit and get Phineas back. I would've felt awful if I didn't do something to help get my little brother back." Ferb smiled weakly at her.

"Well, time to get back to work, I guess… I'd say you'd be best with Izzy, fronting the team operations." Candace mock saluted to Ferb and smiled cheesily in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yes, sir!"

**A/N  
>Thank you for reading my waffling and being patient with me so far. I promise you no more waiting! From here on in, we shall have action! We shall have evil dudes! We shall evil dudes! And we shall have a hell of a lot of sad, sad emotions and hospitals! A death? Well, I leave you to decide on that one! Please drop and review, and thank you once more for reading!<strong>


	11. Taunts

**A/N  
>And now zee action starts! Le gasp! I feel so pumped to keep writing that I'm tempted to put up two chapters in one day. And just to clarify things guys, I didn't say there WILL be a character death, I said there MAY be a character death. Nothing is set in stone, and I honestly don't know if I have the heart to kill off a character!<strong>

**helloooo fanfiction: OMG! THE WORLD WOULD END IF PERRY DIED! But don't worry, Perry's not in the running for dying :) I love that platypus too much to kill him haha**

**Sierra-275: I'm hoping that's a good -_- haha!**

**Wii Guy: Nup, it wasn't Candace, though trust me, I can bet you she would 'bust' the villain in a completely different way if she got a hold of him! I love that song! The lyrics are so sweet until it's like 'Cause you're younger, we're related, and you're boys' and then I can't help but laugh :) And I'll go and check it out in a second!**

**writer-person2: There will be more to come in the story, and not just between Candace and Ferb. I'm glad you like them :)**

**WordNerb93: Gah! If you keep throwing chairs at him, then he'll at least be unconscious, and then what fun can I have in the confrontation chapter with an unconscious villain! And no explosives, sorry, but I promise you everyone's favourite fanboy will be pulling a few Leeroy Jenkins' in the next story. Good lord I can't wait to write for a grown-up Irving armed with explosives and laser guns!**

**MuchuFox: I agree, there's barely anything in the show that focuses on Candace and Ferb's relationship, which is quite sad as I think that it should be explored more. I do have to say though, there isn't any more Candace and Ferb until after the confrontation, sorry :(**

**Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you!**

**IzzieGS: Yus, evil dudes! And I can't agree more! Well, I probably could if I wasn't British and I didn't hear the accent everyday so I fell for it, but yeah! And Carpe Diem to you too :)**

**PersonNoOneCaresAbout: Yus! Canderemy are now officially in! And death, though a potential, I haven't completely decided on yet, but I like your reasoning behind everyone haha! I see your point for each of them :)** **And in regards to your name-y thing, I care about you!**

Days passed, each the same as the rest. Ferb awoke every night with nightmares, varying between seeing Phineas, Vanessa, or in the worse ones, both, killed in front of him. During the day, he split his time between working non-stop with Heinz and sitting with Perry in hospital, watching the platypus slowly recover until he was able to walk without hindering pain again. Ferb helped him every stepped of the way, and though he knew Perry was incredibly annoyed at the fact he wouldn't be able to work in the field, he still helped Isabella and Monogram sifting through different potential villains, and the Fireside girls monitor all information, and pinpoint potential locations, despite all the raids so far coming up empty handed. Candace had called her parents, and told them that Phineas and Ferb had gone off to a weeklong invention convention, and was shocked when her parents just accepted it as if it was nothing. Candace underwent training alongside Buford and Pinky to become more like her alternate self, to be able to lead a team into the battle field, yet still fight for herself if needed. Jeremy would drop in on Baljeet and Ginger to try and help out with the tactic planning.

Ferb sighed and collapsed on his bed after another long day at work, yet no obvious rewards. Heinz had given him a 'Disable-inator' that apparently disabled all weapons within the room it was in when activated, but it had a setback: it disabled all electronic devices as well. Ferb couldn't see how it'd be useful, it wasn't as if he planned to go in on his own. But he accepted it with grace, to not hurt the scientist's feelings, knowing that there was still a small chance it could be useful. He ran his finger over the remote in his pocket. He trusted Heinz's inventions; he just didn't understand their applications.

Ferb ran a hand through his hair, struggling to decide whether to fall asleep and risk facing another nightmare, or lose another night of sleep just to be completely out of it the next day, but avoid the nightmare. He pulled his legs into his chest, and turned to face the alarm clock at the side of him.  
>10:53. He groaned and pulled the sheets over his head, knowing that if he wanted to help Phineas and Vanessa as much as he could, he'd have to try and brave the nightmares that plagued him. He closed his eyes and begged that he'd be allowed an un-interrupted night.<p>

Ferb slowly drifted into a deep sleep, not even waking when Perry chattered rather loudly at Ferb to alert him he had arrived. Perry simply jumped on Phineas' bed and pressed himself against the missing boy's pillow, desperate for his safe and swift return. To Perry, life wasn't complete without both of his owners. He'd do anything to have them both safe.

* * *

><p>Candace lay in her old bed, asleep, whimpering with her arms wrapped around Jeremy, holding with tight. Jeremy was asleep too, but he didn't move an inch or make a noise like his fiancé. He just worried in his dream state about her and her brothers.<p>

Candace woke, her eyes wide open and glistening with tears. She empathised with Ferb and the nightmares that took sleep away from him: she had them too. She held back a scream as she realised she was back in reality, and rolled her head up to look at the clock. 3:51. She sighed and closed her eyes ever slowly, scared of what her mind had for her, lurking in the dark, but desperately needing the sleep due to a lack of it, just like Ferb.

Candace let her eyes shut once more, and drifted away again into a deep, terrifying sleep. The Flynn-Fletcher household quietened once again.

* * *

><p>Ring ring.<p>

Ferb groaned and pressed his head into the pillow, trying to block out the irritating noise rousing him from his sleep. It was the most bearable nightmare he'd had so far, and he both wanted and needed the sleep.

Ring ring.

He tried hitting the alarm clock with his hand, and when that didn't stop the noise, he opened his eyes, and realised it was far too early for his alarm clock to be going off. He jumped out of bed, alert searching for the source of the noise.

Ring ring.

His flashing cell phone caught his eye. Ferb dove it at, clutching it in both hands, fearing that it was the agency calling him in again due to another emergency. He stared at the screen for a moment.

Unknown Caller.

Ferb made his way downstairs quickly, muffling the ringing phone in his hands. He rushed into the kitchen, then quickly looked around to make sure he was alone. When he was certain no-one else was in the room with him, he accepted the call, and nervously lifted the phone to his ear, unsure of what to anticipate.

"Hello?"

"Oh sorry, wrong number…" Ferb visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Then the person on the other line started laughing. Slowly, like a slight giggle, then building up into a maniacal laugh. Ferb's heart froze, and the laughing ceased just a quickly as it began.

"I'm just kidding, I know exactly whose number this is, Ferb Fletcher." Ferb was more than certain now of the intentions of the person on the other line, and his anger quickly overrode his fear He growled slightly.

"What. Do. You. Want." He hissed, exaggerating and emphasizing every word. He started clenching his fist by his side, despite the person his anger was directed at being on the phone with him, not there in person. But hell, if he was there in person… Ferb wasn't sure what he'd be capable of then, but it'd sure be a hell of a lot more than he'd do to another person.

"You know exactly what I want. I simply wanted you and Heinz to stop inventing," the person on the other line said in a mock innocent voice. "But seeing as you didn't do that, there's a price to pay." Ferb started to run towards the tree elevator in the back garden. He figured that OWCA probably had some form of tracking device. But Ferb stopped dead when a shrill, pained scream came from his phone. A scream he'd never heard before, and hoped to never hear again.

"You-you monster! What have you done?" Ferb shouted down the phone, his voice a mix of agony, fear and anger. He started moving again, faster than before, hitting his fist on the bark three times. His knuckles ached; Fern had more punched the bark than knocked it, but it worked all the same. The door slid open, and Ferb rushed in.

"Nothing… yet. It's been nice taunting, I mean, talking to you Ferb." The voice said, rather smugly. He heard something in the background, someone shout his name, then a bang. The phone line died, leaving him with an irritating monotone buzz. The elevator jolted to a stop, and the door slowly opened.

Peter stood in front of the elevator door, holding some form of ray gun aimed at Ferb's head…

**A/N  
>What did I tell you? Zee start of zee action! Don't kill me yet! Wait till Chapter 15, then I'll understand completely why you want me dead haha. Please review! And thanks for reading :) <strong>


	12. Falsehood

**A/N  
>Just so you guys know, there is a massive hint in the chapter to who the bad guy is. Ferb figures out who it is from this, so let's see if you can! So yeah, I'm really not sure how I've done on this chapter. I keep going back and tweaking it, but I can't figure out any other way to write it, and I'm not happy with it. If you guys could help, that'd be awesome :) Oh yus, and a few of you asked about chapter 15 at my mention of it. The only way I can really describe it is with a Doctor Who quote: Demons run when a good man goes to war.<strong>

**NattyMc: Don't kill him! If you still want to desperately kill him, do so after this chapter, I don't desperately need him after this.**  
><strong>Peter: What? Don't run me over!<strong>

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Something I hate myself for writing is what will happen! And I do that sometimes, I read them on my phone and completely forget to review haha, And thank you!**

**Sierra-275: Thank you! I love all the different faces for each chapter haha :) And yus, yus I do**

**MuchuFox: Huzzah! I have nailed the action aspect. I think this chapter isn't really that strong compared to the next few, I just had trouble writing it :(**

**writer-person2: Thank you!**

**teacup918: Hello again haha! And thank you very much :)**

**Wii Guy: You might be able to figure out who the bad guy is if you pay attention in this one. There's one small hint, but if you pick up on it, and you've watched the right episode, you'll get who it is! And yup, it was Phineas, though I have no idea how the hell he thinks he'd be able to get revenge on him. I was thinking, wouldn't a combination between a fez and a fedora be epic? A fezdora!**

**WordNerb93: Only for the one chapter haha. I was hyper yesterday, and I think the chapter shows it :) And thank you! Though feel free to kill him when I'm done with him, I don't mind then, I dislike him massively anyway. As Heinz would say, "He's the one I want to smother in a ton of pigeon goo!" Oh I do love that crazy evil scientist! And yup, this chapter you shall find out! Irving with guns and explosives should be rated M just because of how mental he is.**

The moment he saw the gun aimed at him, Ferb ducked. Peter pulled the trigger, releasing a laser, just missing the teenager. It made impact with the wall of the elevator behind Ferb, leaving a small, blackened crater. Ferb cast a glance at it, and gulped. He dove past Peter and positioned himself behind the panda, grabbing the rogue agent's arms and holding them behind his back. Peter wrestled his way out of Ferb's grip with ease, and spun round, pointing the gun at the British boy again.

Ferb shoved his phone in his pocket, and ducked again as Peter pulled the trigger. He began to search frantically around the room for something that gave him a chance to fight back, dodging the lasers flying at him. Peter fired the gun again, and missed Ferb narrowly, the beam leaving a small hole through Perry's chair. Small plumes of smoke rose away from the hole. Peter frowned, getting tired of repeatedly missing his target. He growled, and settled upon shooting randomly in hopes of hitting his target.

One of the shots skimmed across the top of Ferb's left shoulder, incinerating the material over it and leaving a burn on his skin. Ferb hissed, gritting his teeth, and ducked below the desk again, before making another run to another, less burnt spot.

Ferb jumped a few times as some of Peter's shots came close to him, staining the ground with black spots and mini-ditches. He quickly picked up on Peter's new tactic, and concluded that if he was to survive, he needed a new one too. Ferb kept moving, ducking behind various objects, until he came across the pipe Peter had torn out a few days ago. Any other time, Ferb would've laughed at the agency's attempt at concealing everything with minimal work, but at this point in time, he was thankful for it. He grabbed the pipe in both hands, and slowly closed the distance between him and Peter, hiding behind anything that gave him cover.

Peter was more than annoyed when Ferb came out, wielding the pipe he'd used only days earlier to beat Perry. He was even angrier when Ferb began spinning the pipe, deflecting all the lasers Peter fired at him. Ferb swung the pipe at Peter's gun at arm's length, knocking it flying to the other side of the room. Peter hissed and launched himself at Ferb, higher and faster than any other panda would be able to jump.

Ferb swung the pipe at Peter, knocking him to the floor, his hits powered by anger and the adrenaline rush caused by Peter's attack. The panda landed on his back paws, with one front paw on the ground to steady himself. He charged at the teenager, and slid on his back as Ferb twisted round and swung the pipe at him again. He narrowly avoided being hit, and took advantage of Ferb's surprise, hitting him in the leg. Ferb fell to the ground and Peter jumped on the British teenager's chest, smiling evilly at him.

Peter punched Ferb in the face, harder than Ferb had expected off the rogue agent. He winced, and struggled against the panda, trying to get up. Peter raised his fist again, when Ferb grabbed the pipe lying next to him, and smashed it down onto Peter's fedora.

Ferb jumped when the agent's fedora started to spark and crackle. When the agent fell off him, Ferb backed up, holding the pipe tight between his hands in case Peter stood up again. He was anxious, and quite exhausted, but he still had a hell of a lot more of fight in him if needed.

He looked around, trying to find somewhere appropriate to take cover if the panda attacked again. A table. A few chairs. The desk. And a coffee machine. Ferb's brow furrowed as he wondered why on Earth a platypus would need a coffee machine.

His lapse in attention proved bad, as Peter tossed off the crackling fedora, and launched himself at the green-haired teenager in front of him. Ferb saw Peter in his peripheral vision, and swung the pipe to defend himself, but he was too late.

Peter tackled Ferb to the floor, and Ferb tensed himself, prepared for the worst. His pipe had rolled away, so he had no means of defending himself against the rogue agent in front of him. Peter opened his arms, causing Ferb to squeeze his eyes shut, and wrapped them around Ferb. Ferb opened one eye out of confusion, to see the panda he was just fighting with… hugging him.

Ferb pushed himself up with his back hands, and stared in complete and utter confusion at the killing machine that was hugging him. The panda that had just tried to shoot him was hugging him. He couldn't make sense of the situation, and concluded that he was unconscious, that Peter had won, and that this was all a dream.

Peter jumped off Ferb and grabbed one of the spare papers of Perry's desk and a pen, and scribbled down a message to Ferb. He ran back to the boy, still holding the pen, and excitedly handed him the note. Ferb took it, glancing between Peter and the paper between his fingers, and read the message.

Thank you! I'm really sorry about everything I've done,  
>and I know people won't just forgive me,<br>but I wasn't in control. Literally. Some jerk had stolen Heinz's  
>Devolition-inizer, and used it on me. I really am sorry,<br>especially for Perry and trying to kill you.

"What on Earth is a Devolition-inizer?" Ferb asked, eyeing the panda suspiciously. He wanted to believe Peter, but he wasn't sure he could. And it didn't help Peter's case that he'd just being trying to kill Ferb just minutes ago. Peter took the paper back and scribbled down some more. Then handed it back to Ferb.

It's a form of mind control,  
>where you control the wearer by a remote.<br>You want proof?  
>Go and tell me if that fedora is a genuine fedora,<br>or made of metal and electronics.

Ferb gave Peter the benefit of the doubt. Any other time, and he would've investigated it until he was happy, but he was in a rush, and he didn't have the time, or patience, to look into it. He moved over to the computer screen and disk with the panda trailing behind him, and pulled out the mobile phone.

"Is there any way to track the call?" he asked. Peter nodded and moved in front of Ferb, tapping away at the keys. A login screen popped up. Peter pointed at it, and Ferb nodded, knowing what he needed to do. He tapped away at the keys skilfully, until he'd overridden the need for a login. The computer loaded up, and Ferb smiled. Peter moved forward again, navigating around on the programs on the desktop, until he reached the one he wanted. He looked down Ferb's phone, and tapped in his mobile number on the screen. A list of all Ferb's previous ingoing and outgoing calls came up on screen. Peter doubled-clicked on the most recent call, and the screen faded to grey, with text in the centre.

Please wait one moment. GPS location is being calculated.

Only moments passed until a map appeared on screen, with a rather large arrow, with co-ordinates written in it, pointing at the centre point. Ferb's heart jumped as he realised they were just outside the border of the Tri-State area, at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. He figured that was why the Fireside girls hadn't picked up on it: they'd kept their search within the Tri-State area, excluding the possibility of them being outside until all potential places had been searched. He smiled to himself, knowing that soon enough, he'd have his brother and love of his life back. Peter shoved a piece of paper towards Ferb.

You realise it's a trap, right?

Ferb nodded and smiled sorrowfully at him, correcting his last train of thought. He'd either have Phineas and Vanessa back, or die trying. Peter scribbled again, in slightly jagged hand writing. He gave the paper back to Ferb, rather frantically.

You have to be quick. He's a maniac.  
>Once he realises you're harder to dispose of than he thought,<br>he'll kill them in one last attempt to make you and Heinz stop.

"Thank you. If-When I'm back, I'll vouch for your innocence." Ferb said, his voice shaking slightly. Peter could tell he was scared now, so he smiled, and squeaked at him, making the boy chuckle slightly. Peter nodded his head, and left the base, knowing if he was caught without Ferb there, he'd be presumed guilty.

* * *

><p>"Hehe. Guess what kiddos. I got a little live feed for you." There was a short hum, followed by a massive screen lighting up the abandoned warehouse. Multiple shadows were cast by men, standing dotted about the room. Ferb came up on screen, fighting against a panda. Vanessa muttered under her breath, about Peter being a traitor, while Phineas was still utterly confused by the fact that there were animals, skilled at fighting.<p>

They heard Ferb's growl as the shot hit him on the shoulder, gasping. Vanessa felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched her boyfriend fight for his life, just to try and find her. Phineas bit his lip, wishing Ferb would stop, before he killed himself. The red-head grinned slightly when his brother picked up the pipe, and wielded it expertly against the rogue agent: it brought back memories of that one day when they decided to pretend to be secret agents when they were 12. But as much as it made him reminisce, it hurt him so much. A single tear ran down Vanessa's cheek as she watched Ferb fighting off the panda; it tore her heart to watch him have to fight.

"Ha! You jerk, it failed!" Phineas shouted at the man, stood by the screen, as the panda hugged his brother, and helped him trace the call. The man simply smiled at him, then burst out laughing manically. Vanessa's eyes widened as she realised just what the man had done: Phineas still grinned smugly at him.

"Oblivious as ever, Phineas Flynn? It was all part of the plan. Sure, I was controlling Peter, but I planned to make it malfunction," he aided air quotes around malfunction, and emphasized word, "This is all just part of the plan…"

* * *

><p>Ferb wrung his hands, nervously pacing about the lair. He knew that chances were, Phineas and Vanessa would survive, but he would die, or at least get badly injured. He knew he couldn't tell anyone where he was going, because if the man was as crazy as Peter said, he'd be risking their lives. Ferb made his mind up. It was now or never…<p>

**A/N  
>So yeah, I don't like this chapter, so if you can see anywhere I could improve, please please please say! Anyways, I'm out till tomorrow! Please drop a review!<strong>


	13. Discovery

**A/N  
>Okay, I'm happier with this chapter than I was with the last. Just giving a little help for those still looking for the hint, it's just after Peter regains control. It's a play on a word, and it occurs twice, but trust me, when you see it, it becomes obvious if you've seen the right episodes, and in the reviews, I won't confirm or deny suspicions! Wheeeeeeee, onto the reviews!<strong>

**NattyMc: Aw, have a little sympathy for Peter, even a little. He was forced against his will to do it! Though I have to say, your review made me laugh. A lot. You always seem to be able to make me laugh, so thank you!**

**teacup918: I have a look at your stories as soon as I can then! Yay!**

**Sierra-275: Yes! My little hints worked then. I dropped little hints in each of Peter's appearances to try and make the reader wonder if he was being controlled. I like the ^_^ face! It looks like my actual happy face haha!**

**writer-person2: Yus yus yus!**

**MuchuFox: Yus! Poor Peter, he's really a good agent in this world. But Heart of Courage? Well, Peter is matched perfectly with his opponent from the evil side. Just a little evil hint there aha! And nope nope, certainly not good, at all!**

**Wii Guy: Thank you. I can't quite put my finger on it, I just didn't like it :/ And yeah, I used to do that, but it's a pain trying to write reviews on an iPhone :( So I gave up and left review writing for the computer. Aww, give him a chance! In the follow-up story, he really proves himself to be on the good side, and shows how far he'll go to make up for what happened. Haha! I laughed at the last hint, I couldn't stop laughing at that line in the actual episode! And no problem, I can't wait to see it! I can't wait till Platypus day, even though I have to stay awake all night to watch it on my laptop, as I'm in Britain :(**

**Mimi-loves-llamas: I actually read a good story recently where Thaddeus was the culprit, with Thor as his, I think it'd be top henchman? It's called 'Kidnapped' and if you haven't read it, you totally should! And thank you, I agree with you, though I dislike Peter for invading Perry and Doof's frenemy-ship, he was only doing his job.**

**PersonNoOneCaresAbout: I love Baljeet! He's just adorable and hilarious, and probably the character I can relate most to off the show, being a self-proclaimed nerd myself haha, and no problem!**

**WordNerb93: Yay! Someone else who doesn't completely hate Peter! It is a shame for him, and if you'd like to confirm the hint you think you saw, I gave a tip in the author's note up the top :) Haha! Do you ever stop throwing things?**

Perry groaned when the alarm clock woke him up in the morning. He looked over to Ferb's bed and sighed when he saw it empty yet again. Either the boy had had another nightmare, or he'd gone to work early again. Perry felt sorry for Ferb, the whole situation, though taking its toll on all of them, was hitting Ferb the worst. Each night he'd wake up in a sweat, after his mind forced him to watch his brother or his girlfriend killed in front of him. Perry got up slowly, making sure not too stretch too much so his side wouldn't hurt, and turned off the alarm clock.

He hopped out of bed and slowly made his way down the stairs, grunting each time he went down a step, a twinge of pain in his ribs pestering him. He chattered loudly, expressing his discomfort for anyone who was bothered to listen. Not that he wouldn't take it all again to protect his owners, but Perry wished Peter hadn't turned on them in the first place.

He walked out to the kitchen, to be greeted by Candace and Jeremy already at the breakfast bar. Candace looked down towards Perry and smiled groggily at him. It was obvious Perry hadn't got up much later than them: Candace's hair was still a ruffled mess, and Jeremy still looked half asleep. He went over to his bowl, chewing slowly on his food.

"Ferb already left for work, Perry?" Perry didn't look over at Candace, he simply nodded his head and carried on eating. "I worry about him, you know. I'm scared enough, with Phineas somewhere out there, with god knows who. But Ferb… Ferb must have it worse. With Vanessa gone, and the ransom note directed at him. He must feel so awful, like it's his fault…"

Candace slowly trailed off and started eating again. But what she'd said made Perry think: it was probably because of guilt that Ferb worked longer than them all, pushing himself to the extreme and beyond. Perry made a mental note to make sure Ferb stopped pushing himself so hard, and to make him realise that they were all in it together, it wasn't his fault.

* * *

><p>"Time to get up, Dad!" Heinz rolled over and pressed the pillow against his face, trying to pretend he didn't hear Norm call him. But his attempt was in vain. Norm walked into his room, each footstep like an elephant, and pulled the sheets off Doofenshmirtz. When the evil scientist still persisted in ignoring the robot, Norm picked Heinz up and carried him out into the living room. Pinky quickly tagged along from his spot next to Heinz's bed. Heinz looked over his shoulder, confused at the small Chihuahua following him. He opened his mouth and raised his finger, ready to question who Pinky was, when the Chihuahua pulled his fedora out and wiggled it at Heinz, rolling his eyes. The evil scientist's eyes lit up with recognition, and he beamed at the Chihuahua. Pinky sighed. This had happened for 3 days running.<p>

"Look Dad! I made you breakfast!" Norm shouted rather optimistically. Heinz groaned and covered his ears, making a mental note to turn Norm's volume down next time he tinkered with him. He looked in front of himself, to be greeted by a plate full of muffins sat on the table, stacked up in all different flavours.

"When did you get to cook these, Norm?" Heinz questioned, eyeing the muffins hungrily. He was torn between the chocolate chip muffin, the banana muffin or the blueberry muffin, all perched around the edge of the plate

"When you've been out each day, Dad! I've been trying new things every day!" Heinz smiled. Even in troublesome time's, as much as he hated to admit it, Norm's optimism and happiness was contagious. And the robot did cook good muffins.

"Thank you Norm," Heinz shouted. He decided to pick a random muffin in the end, so he closed his eyes and spun the plate round, then picked up the first muffin he touched, and bit into it gratefully. It was a nice way to start the day, with one or two of Norm's homemade muffins. He took another bit, then the flavour clicked with him. Blueberry. Vanessa's favourite. A small tear slid down his cheek as he chewed the muffin slowly, wishing he'd picked a different one. He loved blueberry too, but he always ate them with his baby girl who he missed oh so much.

"Dad, are you okay?" Norm questioned in his contradictory happy tone. Heinz looked up at the robot in front of him and smiled softly at him, his eyes sparkling with tears.

"I'm fine, just something in my eye. I better set off to OWCA now…"

* * *

><p>"Hey Carl!" Isabella called as she entered OWCA headquarters with the Fireside girls by her side. Carl spun round and smiled at her.<p>

"Hey Isabella. Hey girls." He stopped until she and the Fireside girls had caught up with him, and they started walking along the corridor together. Isabella noticed how she couldn't hear any banging coming from anywhere, which confused her. Ferb was always first in, and last to leave.

"Ferb not here yet Carl?" She asked, the curiosity and confusion apparent in her voice. The Fireside girls watched Carl intently, clearly curious on the matter as well.

"Nope. By the looks of it, the poor lad got a good night sleep. I'm glad. He was working himself so much, I was getting pretty worried about him," Isabella nodded and smiled. She was glad. Although she knew Ferb was just desperate for Phineas and Vanessa back, he was shying away from talking with people even more than before the abduction, and hiding in his work, producing new inventions like a factory.

Isabella's head spun round as she heard the hum and click of the lowering floor panel. She sighed, anticipating the green-haired boy to come through the door behind them. At least he'd come in normal time, not god knows how many hours earlier.

When Candace, Jeremy and Perry walked through, without Ferb, Isabella was more than a little confused. They'd decided to stick in their groups together. She frowned at the idea of Ferb being at home alone, especially after he was confirmed one of the main targets from all the notes.

"Hey! " She shouted, waving at the small cluster walking towards them, "Ferb still in bed?" Isabella smiled sweetly, trying to find out why they'd left him before jumping to conclusion. Candace frowned at Isabella, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Um, no, he's already here at work, isn't he?" Perry looked between Isabella and Candace, and started to panic. In the past few days, Ferb hadn't gone anywhere except here and home. He knew Isabella was telling the truth: there was a distinct lack of banging or drilling, the noises which had graced the whole of OWCA headquarters for the duration of the boy's stay.

"What do you mean Candace? He's not here, he hasn't turned up yet. I thought he'd finally gotten a good night sleep." Perry chattered, bringing everyone's attention to him. He shook his head, and curled up on the floor, then got up and shrugged. Isabella's eyes widened as she grasped what Perry was trying to put across, in his terrible actions.

"His bed was already empty when you got up?" Perry nodded slowly and solemnly. The knowledge was pressing on his mind, dragging him down, like a thousand stabs in the heart. Candace held her hand in front of her mouth, as her attempt to speak was choked by rising tears. Carl held his watch to his mouth, calling desperately for Major Monogram. Isabella stood, froze to the spot, unable to react as she realised both her best friends were now gone. The Fireside girls crowded round her as they tried to comfort her, and Jeremy held Candace into his chest as she sobbed, his own eyes sparkling in the light. Everything was a blur, yet Perry could only think of one thing.

Both his owners were missing…

**A/N  
>Don't worry, tomorrow we catch up with everyone's favourite green haired protagonist as he embarks on a journey he's prepared to die on. So just what is running through Ferb's head as he is nearing what he believes to be his end? Tune in tomorrow to find out, and please drop a review! Reviews are like food, and I'm very hungry!<strong>


	14. Protective

**A/N  
>So here we visit Ferb again, the world's newest green haired hero! I quite like this chapter, not sure why, I just enjoyed writing it more. Sorry for posting a few hours later than normal though! And a pre-warning, the next chapter is back to Candace and Perry, and then we hit Chapter 15, the chapter where everything happens, and you'll probably want to throw chairs at both me and the villain. Also, there another hint to who it is in this one, which points out the only way Ferb recognises the villain's voice is from audio recordings he'd heard, meaning he DOESN'T know who it is, and he hasn't met them prior to this, or at least not properly. Onto the reviews now :)<strong>

**NattyMc: Oh Platyborg! Aren't you just the most adorable thing! Platyborg never fails to make me laugh when you're the writer haha!**

**PQ's Awesomest: Hmmm… *rubs chin dramatically* Don't ask haha!**

**Sierra-275: I know, the lad's going to need it! And honestly, I think Phineas wouldn't give a damn who Ferb went to first, he'd just be over the moon to see his brother safe, and to be re-united with him. And that face is very filling, thank you! Om nom nom**

**Teacup918: Yup yup, can't have a story without a bit of all the cannon couples haha!**

**MuchuFox: Ferb should, but whether he actually does or not is another matter. And let me say, this is a very emotional Ferb we're dealing with here. Not even Phineas could talk him out of doing crazy things if Ferb thinks it's the best way forward!**

**writer-person2: Thank you very much again haha!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Haha, don't worry about it! It is normal to forget things you know :) And fingers crossed! I don't think I have the heart to kill off such a loveable, popular character, but let's see shall we? It's quite scary you even have possession of a grenade gun. *shudders* Promise me you won't use that thing after you've read Chapter 15 when I post? Please? And thank you :)**

**WordNerb93: Silly sausage Ferb decided to go it alone, just so no-one else he loved had to get hurt, even if it meant he'd die. Which is kinda sweet, but silly at the same time. And I'm not telling yooouuuuu! You'll have to wait just a tincy bit longer to see! And that's okay, I don't mind! I think you just gave our villain another bruise!**

**Wii Guy: Of course not! I'm thankful that you're reviewing anyway! And the alerts have been playing up for me too, maybe it affected quite a few members. And don't worry about it, you shall earn respect for our panda friend with time! And yeah, I figured that it'd be quite humorous if Doof couldn't recognise any agents without their fedora, though that must get pretty annoying quick for poor Pinky, whose been stationed with the evil scientist!**

_1 hour earlier…_

Ferb snuck back into his room, and grabbed a set of fresh clothes, and the Disable-inator Heinz had given him, before quietly leaving the room. At 5 o clock in the morning, no-one else was awake, and even if they woke and heard him, they'd presume he'd had another nightmare. Ferb went into the bathroom, and got changed into the fresh clothes, then splashed water over his face. Ferb ran a brush through his tangled green hair, and brushed his teeth before looking up at the mirror in front of him.

Clad in dark blue jeans and a black top, with messy hair and a determined glint in his eyes, Ferb couldn't help but notice just how much he looked like people in the movies as they prepared for a rescue mission. He smiled ever so slightly at his stereotypical reflection, and put his mobile and the Disable-inator in his pocket.

Ferb left the bathroom, and quietly made his way down the stairs, tiptoeing around the creaky floorboards he'd memorized. As soon he was down, he grabbed his coat and trainers, and his keys. Ferb slipped into the coat, his heart rate slowly speeding up, though in tension or fear he couldn't figure. He tied the laces on his shoes, and looked back up the stairs mournfully, grimacing. Ferb knew that there was every chance he'd never see Candace, or Perry, or anyone he'd ever loved again. He cast the thought to the back of his mind, determined to be strong in his potential last few hours. He held his shoulders back, and walked over to the door, slowly twisting the key in the lock until he heard a familiar click. He pulled the keys out slowly, pressing the handle down at a similar rate, until a small crack opened between the door and the doorframe.

Ferb opened the door a little more, until it was just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and twisted his body through the gap. The sun was just beginning to rise on the horizon, scattering shadows and light alike. Ferb squinted as the sunlight hit him in the eye, and pulled the door shut, his other hand pressed against the door to limit its speed. There was a small bang, causing Ferb to wince, hoping it hadn't woken Candace or Perry, or even Jeremy. He ran across to his car, parked out front of the house, and clicked on the key fob, unlocking the car. Ferb cast one last glance back towards his house, his heart aching. He ran his hand over the bonnet of his Mazda. "Let's see how fast you can go," he whispered to the car, opening the door and jumping in. The seatbelt clicked, and the engine revved up. Ferb shifted the gear stick, and pressed his foot down.

"Bye, Candace… Perry… Mom… Dad… Everyone…" he murmured under his breath. Ferb was trapped in a world of anger and sorrow, yet it proved to be what fuelled him most in his suicide mission. Revenge upon the jerk who had torn his brother and girlfriend from him, fear that he'd be too late. The emotions drove Ferb further than he thought he could ever be pushed.

The quiet in the car was deafening. All that Ferb could hear was the quiet hum of the engine. The roads were empty in the morning, and few people were out. Those who were all looked twice at the sports car with flames falling out the engine, as it soared past all speed limits. Ferb didn't care: he pressed his foot down even harder, desperate for time to hurry up, and yet the seconds ticked by slower than he'd ever felt them pass before.

He turned the radio on, desperate to get rid of the silence. The volume slowly increased, until a far too familiar song flooded the car. When Ferb heard it, it felt like all his worries were being washed away, and he grinned cheesily as it brought back some many memories.

_Bow chicka bow-wow  
>That's what my baby said!<br>Mow, mow, mow,  
>And my heart starts pumpin'<br>Oh, chicka, chicka, chew-wop  
>Never gonna stop<br>Gitchi gitchi goo means that I love you!_

Ferb couldn't understand how that song was still cropping up on the radios: Phineas and the Ferbtones was a one-hit wonder, so why were people still so addicted to the song? Ferb chuckled at his train of thought, and though his worry and fear were still present, they didn't affect him as much as he mentally sung along with the song they'd all had so much fun making.

Ferb got lost in his memories, just paying enough attention to the road to avoid crashing, and turn at the right turns. But his mind hid from his building fear and tension by watching the younger him and Phineas, along with their friends, building the impossible time and time again, and having the best time of their lives while doing it. He remembered travelling around the world, when Vanessa joined them. He remembered how his heart jumped when he first saw Vanessa after she fell on the window, and how she'd joined them until Paris, when she left with her dad. He remembered when they'd built the haunted house for Isabella, just to get rid of her hiccups. He smiled as his brother was oblivious as ever that day, despite Isabella being as obvious as always about her feelings. 4 years on and they were still playing the same game: Isabella pining for Phineas' attention, and Phineas still not understanding love. He smiled inwardly, as he knew when Isabella next saw Phineas, she would make it so blatantly obvious, that if the red head didn't click on, he was doomed forever to a loveless life.

When Ferb looked back down at the clock at the dash board, he'd realised over an hour had passed while he was lost in memory lane. 6:42 am. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he realised it was only another quarter of an hour or so. He cursed Danville for being so big, and the factory for being on the opposite side of Danville, just outside the borderline. He shifted the car up a gear, then another after a short pause. The engine growled over the song before quietening again, and the car picked up some speed. The road slowly became more and more forsaken as time passed by, until all signs of apparent civilisation had disappeared. Ferb could make out some dark dots on the horizon, the only signs he wasn't in the middle of no-where.

As the bright red car raced down the road, Ferb gritted his teeth, his breathing becoming heavier. The small dots grew into black outlines, then small squares. They increased in size quickly as Ferb sped towards them, and Ferb realised that there wasn't just one factory: there was a whole cluster of them. He couldn't understand what they were doing so far out from a city centre anyway, but slowed his car to quieten the engine. The buildings stood, looking over him, with daunting shadows. The sun had risen just over the horizon, lighting the area up.

Ferb drove off the road, slower than before, and parked round the back of one of the factories. He hadn't expected to have the element of surprise on his side, but when he realised he might have even the slightest help, he took the opportunity. He parked the car up, and crept out of it. Ferb pressed the key fob, and the car clicked in response.

Ferb peered from out behind the warehouse, trying to get some idea of where to start. He figured that there was at least 10 factories in the cluster, as far as he could see. It wasn't many, but Ferb knew it'd waste time trying to figure out which one his loved ones were in.

He ran across the back of the one row of factories, looking between the gaps for clues. Ferb sighed as clouds started to cover the sun, darkening everywhere slightly. Rain was on the way. He paused after a few factories, running over what he saw, seeing if there was any clue embedded within the recent memories, when a black shape out of his peripheral vision caught his attention.

Ferb twisted his head and pressed himself against the back of the factory, to try and stay out of view. His mind took a moment to process what he saw, but when it clicked, he felt the adrenaline start to take effect, running through his veins, pushing him onwards. It was a black van. Or rather, several black vans. Ferb realised that he was in trouble: they didn't need more than one van to transport hostages and a kidnapper. No, this man was prepared. Scarily prepared. Ferb hissed the man's name under his breath: he was more than certain he knew who it was. And what Peter had told him only confirmed it even more. The wind carried the accursed word from his mouth and scattered it across the air, hissing.

Ferb kept himself pressed against the wall and inched his way closer to the vans, only leaving the factory when he had to move across to a different one. As he got closer to the vans, and the abandoned factory they were parked outside, he heard shouting. Someone was arguing inside the factory. Or closer to, some _three._Ferb felt his throat tighten as he recognised all three voices: two he'd become so familiar with over the years, and one. One he recognised off the audio recordings on OWCA's database. One he hated with all his life. One he'd sacrifice his life just to kill, or put permanently in jail.

Ferb's plan of creeping in changed the moment he heard shouts and cries of pain, and a bullet shot. He charged straight towards the door, and kicked it down, a primal, animalistic fury taking over the green headed boy. The door fell before him, a dent in the middle of it, and everyone in the factory looked at him. Eight men stood around the room, each with a gun aimed on Ferb Fletcher.

**A/N  
>Oh good lord, how is Ferb going to get out of this one? He just about managed to escape with is life when there was only one person wielding a gun! Okay, so it was a kick ass panda with enhanced strength and speed equipped with a laser gun, but still! Just to clarify, these dudes have normal guns, not lasers like Peter. Our evil dude is a bit of a cheapo, but don't tell him I said that! Please drop a review :)<strong>


	15. Pursuit

**A/N  
>As we see in this chapter, someone has their wishes come true, and another person has the time of their life so far in doing so! Cute fluffiness in the face of danger, yay! And the plot thickens! And happy Platypus Day guys! And, if I get at least 5 reviews within the next 3 hours, I shall also upload Chapter 15, the chapter where everything happens and you'll want to kill me after it! Yus, I'm bribing you for reviews, but it'd also be a Happy Platypus Day present! Onto the reviews :)<strong>

**NattyMc: It is an 'Uh oh!' Platyborg, she's right! And don't worry Platyborg, I don't think think you're a waffle iron! Speaking of Platyborg, you don't mind if I borrow your Other Dimensionator, do you? I might need it in about two weeks ;)**

**Sierra-275: Hmm, but is the motive he will reveal be the real one? And yus, OWCA will get involved to some extent. Yay, more faces!**

**teacup918: What have you got yourself into this time, Ferb? Silly sausage boy! And something bad may possibly happen**

**writer-person2: Brave is one word haha, daft is another :)**

**MuchuFox: I mean, who thought he could take down a mind controlled, secret agent, gun wielding panda? So let's see, and keep our fingers crossed for our protagonist! And thank you :)**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Oh god! I suggest you skip the next chapter then, I cried while I was writing it! But then again, I have a Disable-inator! And are you sure? I'm quite scared of you now! And I'll update as quick as I can! I'm considering putting up two chapters as a Happy Platypus day present :)**

**Wii Guy: Haha, don't worry about it! And I'm glad it's fixed, I was worried I was missing updates! And next chapter, we shall find out if your suspicions are right or not! Dun dun dun! And happy Platypus Day! I wish you luck, and wow! That's a really awesome amount of visitors! I haven't actually checked how many visitors I've had, just hits for some reason! You just might be, a Plty-fanatic! Good luck on your mission, Agent WG, of mastering the Platypus Dance!**

Heinz walked in on the mournful gathering in the corridor, and although he was never good at telling emotions, he knew something was seriously wrong. And the lack of one member worried him further. Had the boy done something crazy? Had Ferb been taken too? Heinz didn't realise it, but his pace picked up, until he was practically running, white lab coat flowing behind him. Pinky ran alongside him, until they reached the congregation.

Candace turned her head slowly, and looked up at Heinz in the eyes, tears running down her cheeks. Heinz's look softened sympathetically, something the doctor didn't know he was capable of, and he crouched down, and placed a hand on Candace's shoulder. He smiled weakly at her, and opened his mouth.

"Don't worry, we'll get them back. I can promise you that." Heinz tried to keep his voice soft and kind, but inside, he was seething.. He hated whoever it was with everything he had for taking his daughter, and swore revenge on them. But taking Ferb's brother too? And now Ferb himself? Heinz was screaming inwardly. All that ran through his were ways he could exact revenge, and get the hostages back safe.

Candace saw his emotions in his eyes, and realised that it was that extra little push Heinz needed to go all out. The anger dancing in his eyes. She knew they hadn't had the best history together, Heinz and the culprit. That they always competed, and Heinz had never liked him, but now… And the fact that Heinz wasn't going to stop inspired Candace. She stood up, thanking him silently with a smile, and looked around at the people in front of her.

"We're not going to help them by moping around," she said, her voice still sad, but filled with determination, "If we're going to get Phineas, Vanessa, and now Ferb back, we need to get to work, and now!" There were nods and murmurs of agreement, and the crowd departed, splitting up. Baljeet walked off slowly, hopeless. Ginger followed him, worriedly.

Baljeet and Ginger left for the conference room they'd worked in everyday, yet unlike every other day, Baljeet just fell into his chair and slouched, ignoring the notepad filled with equations and tactics in front of him. Ginger watched the Indian genius, more than concerned. Baljeet never gave up his notepad: it was his whole life, figuring out the math and science behind everything.

"Baljeet, please… I know you're worried but-" Baljeet looked up at her. His expression blank and unreadable, just like Ginger had to expect off Ferb, but not her Baljeet. She walked over to him and sat beside him.

"I'm not just worried! I am inexplicably terrified! Without Ferb, we cannot do this! I may have written the equations, but Ferb was the one who could tell if they'd work, or if they're right, all I can do is write them!" Ginger looked shocked at Baljeet, and realised that words couldn't help him. And she remembered what her mom had always said to her as a young girl: actions speak louder than words. So Ginger took her mother's advice, and pulled Baljeet in to a kiss.

Baljeet tensed at first, ready to pull away, his eyes wide open. But then he realised how much he enjoyed it. And how Ginger made him feel so complete just then, and everything, every responsibility and worry resting on his shoulders, just melted away. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Ginger's waist as she placed hers around his shoulders. And it was then that Baljeet realised he could do anything he wanted.

The moment was perfect for Ginger, and she felt her cheeks blush when Baljeet didn't pull away from her. She knew then that Baljeet was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, as she knew she'd never feel anything more special than this first kiss with anyone else. She slowly pulled herself away from the genius in front of her, and looked into his deep chocolate brown eyes as he opened them for the first time after the kiss. They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, until Ginger whispered to him.

"Better now?" Baljeet blushed and smiled at Ginger, before replying to her.

"Better than ever. Shall we get to work, girlfriend?" Ginger smiled at Baljeet, and hugged him tight, squealing with joy.

* * *

><p>Candace passed on training today: she wanted to actually help find her brothers, and not just prepare for when they found them. She and the Fireside girls went through a new list of potential locations, they'd exhausted all the areas in Danville and the Tri-State area, and moved to searching the area within a 15 mile radius of the outskirts of the Tri-State area.<p>

"What about this one Candace?" Milly called out. Candace's head snapped up from her monitor, "I think this one has potential!" She shouted, getting more and more excited. Candace picked up her pace up towards Milly, the other Fireside Girls getting interested.

"Look, just a few miles outside of the Tri-State area, but it's like it's in the middle of no-where!" Candace scanned her eyes over the information. A cluster of 17 abandoned factories, with no civilisation around the area. Just one desolate, barely used road leading to and from it. Over an hour away.

"Have we got a current GPS image on it?" Candace asked. The rest of the Fireside girls in the room were gathered around Milly and Candace. Milly looked up at Candace, and tapped on the keys until a loading screen came up on the monitor.

"On it!" She shouted, getting more and more excited at the idea of having tracked down the kidnapper, and consequently their friends. An image flashed up on screen, slightly different to the previous one on two details. There was a cluster of black vans out front the factory, and there was a scarily familiar red car parked around the back of one of the factories.

"Milly, co-could you zoom in on the red car please," Candace asked, but she knew it sounded closer to pleading. Gretchen looked up curiously at Candace, then back to Milly's screen as she zoomed in on the car. The screen blurred for a few seconds, then focused. The quality wasn't as good as before, but Candace could've recognised that car and the registration plate anywhere. FL3TCH3R. Candace took a step back from screen as she realised Ferb wasn't taken: he'd gone himself. The only reason he'd go alone was if it was a trap.

Candace pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and ran out the room. She clicked on her fiancés name, and paced up and down nervously, her hand shaking. She impatiently willed the dial tone to hurry up, and almost screamed in happiness when Jeremy finally picked up. Before Jeremy could say anything, Candace spoke.

"Jeremy, who are you with now?" She said, hastily. Candace didn't want to waste any time now she'd realised her brother had just willingly walked into a trap, to save his girlfriend and brother.

"Um, Isabella and Perry, why?" Candace couldn't believe her luck. The perfect people, and platypus, to go were already with Jeremy.

"Put me on speakerphone" she replied. She could picture Jeremy frowning in confusion, but she couldn't care less. She waited a few seconds before speaking, hoping he'd put speakerphone on.

"Perry, can your agency replicate the Sun Beater 9000, and quickly?" Candace had figured that the Sun Beater 9000 was their best shot. It was probably the most convenient to transport lots of people, easy to control, and could travel quite quickly.

"He nodded, Candace," Jeremy said, passing on Perry's message. Candace squealed a little and jumped, punching the air with her fist.

"Good, get them to do it, and fast. All of you, meet me at Perry's base, and bring weapons, I don't give a damn what. I know where they are!" Candace pressed the disconnect button, and ran back into the control room. "Milly, can you write down the address for me?" Milly nodded and scribbled down an address on a piece of paper, then handed it to Candace.

"Thank you all, so much! I'll be phoning in later, we still need you, but thank you, so much!" Candace shouted as she ran out the door again. She raced down corridor after corridor, footstep after footstep echoing , her heart pounding faster than ever before. Animal agents dove out of her way, looking up in astonishment at the red-head racing down the hallways, crying with a massive smile on her face, and a determined gleam in her eyes. Candace came to the room with the floor panel that lead to Perry's base. She pushed the door open, and noticed the floor panel already rising, with three set of feet, two in shoes and one webbed. She ran towards the rising floor panel, already at her waist height, deciding to use her training from throughout the past 5 days. She placed both her hands on the panel, elbows bent, and swung her legs up and over the side, straightening her elbows out. Her body twisted mid-air, and she landed in a position with one leg outstretched, the other bent, and one hand placed on the floor to balance herself, the other outstretched.

Perry spun round, his fists raised, expecting it to be another attacker. When he saw Candace, he threw his arms around her neck, despite his side screaming out in pain. Candace put one arm around Perry, then let go of him and stood up. Isabella and Jeremy turned to face her, and she noticed just how much they all looked like their second dimension counterparts. Apart from Perry. Isabella had a tight-fitting grey-ish top on and black jeans with boots. Her sash was slung across her chest, but Candace noticed each patch served as a pocket, not just as a decoration. She held a large metal pole, and her expression was hard, but still worried. Jeremy had a dark polo neck jumper on, with a pair of jeans, and a belt around his waist, with a grappling hook and a first aid kit, amongst other things, hanging off it. She noticed a ray gun in his hand, and an empty holster on his belt. Perry wore his fedora, and held a similar gun to Jeremy, only smaller.

"The Sun Beater 9000 will be waiting for us up in Perry's lair," Jeremy told Candace as it floor panel rose at a mind numbing pace, humming and clicking. "And, there's a selection of weapons waiting up there too for you to pick from." Candace smiled: she already knew she was going to pick something similar to Isabella. In training, she'd always worked best with the pole, and figured that was why Candace-2 had always carried around a pole.

The floor panel final stopped and clicked in place. In front of them stood the machine that had transported Phineas and Ferb, along with Candace and their friends, around the world, making it the longest day ever. Candace knew it wasn't the actual one, just a replica, but it still brought back amazing memories. She ran over to the weapons table, and was immediately drawn to the Bo staff propped up against it. It was almost identical to the Resistance leader's staff. Candace began to wonder how her second dimension self was doing, but her train of thought was interrupted when Jeremy called out.

"I figured you'd go for the staff. You're a natural with it!" Candace smiled at Jeremy's compliment, and made her way back over to the small group beside the Sun Beater 9000.

"Guys, Ferb wasn't taken. He went there. His car was parked behind one of the factories. The only reason I can think of as to why he didn't tell us, is because he knew it was a trap. So we need to get there, and quick. We need to be prepared to attack, we don't know how many people are there, if any." Jeremy and Isabella nodded at Candace, Perry saluted at her. They all climbed into the Sun Beater 9000, and Jeremy took the wheel. Candace handed him the paper with the address, and Jeremy tapped it in, while Perry hit a red button on the dash board, one of the agency's additions, and the roof opened above them.

Jeremy pulled the lever back, and the machine began to rise, until they were out of Perry's lair, above rooftops. Candace felt all the excitement drain out of her, the excitement of finding her brothers, to be replaced with a fear that they would be too late. She looked across at Isabella, who'd lost her steely façade, her brow contorted in fear and worry. Candace squeezed Isabella's hand, and smiled at her as Isabella looked anxiously at her.

"Don't worry, we'll get them…" Candace comforted her, but she knew it was more of a promise to herself than an intended comfort to Isabella. The raven-haired girl simply nodded and looked out the window, clutching her metal pole tightly between her hands.

Candace pulled out her phone, and tapped out a text message to Monogram, before hitting send.

Send an OWCA team to our co-ordinates when we stop,  
>and tell everyone to meet us at Danville hospital in half an hour,<br>I think we've found them.

**A/N  
>Oh god, will they get there in time? Will Phineas, Ferb and Vanessa get out in time? Will Candace kill the kidnapper? Will our evil dude even be apprehended? Will we have any unexpected arrivals on the rescue scene? Will I have sausages for tea? All these questions and more will be answered in the upcoming chapters! Remember, review for another chapter on the mightiest, most amazing day of all days: Platypus Day!<strong>


	16. Titanium

**A/N  
>Um, yeah, Irving is here to be doing the next few author notes for me, just because I'm kinda too scared to stay here, what with pain-inators and grenade launchers and fangirls. So I shall fight fire with fire! Fanboy with fangirl! Oh, and I highly recommend listening to this (.comwatch?v=JRfuAukYTKg&ob=av2n) or type into youtube Titanium whilst reading this chapter. This song was the inspiration for the whole story.  
>Irving: Why am I even here?<br>Read the chapter Irving, and you'll figure it out…  
>Irving: Oh my gosh! Is this a fanfiction about <strong>_**Phineas and Ferb**_**? I'm glad I'm not the only creepy one who writes about them!  
>Um, yeah. So today, Irving will be answering your reviews! I'm out until a later safe date!<br>Irving: Sure, strange girl, so onto the reviews about my glorious idols!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: (Irving) I always thought Perry was under-appreciated! Yay for Platypus day! I should go out with Phineas and Ferb and Perry to celebrate, and get more photos for scrap-booking! Why would you cry? I think I should actually read this story before answering the reviews, one second… Mhm, hmm… Oh my GOD! I cried on the first chapter! Who could be so evil as to take someone so loveable and inspiring and perfect and awesome and amazing and kind as Phineas?**

**NattyMc: (Irving) There's a dance? I have to get the tutorials, and lots of photos of doing it, and a big party where everyone only does the dance, and… and… Yay!**

**CP3A: (Irving) She is a jerk for hyping but not updating isn't she? Gosh, if I'd known how evil this story was before she left, I would've killed. Let's go Ferb-hurter-evil-dude-chapter-reading-stopper hunting together!**

**writer-person2: (Irving) I thought it was tear jerking, and horrifying, but I'm so glad Candace doesn't actually hate her brothers!**

**WordNerb93: (Irving) Email notifications? When I find a fanfiction about the amazing Phineas and Ferb that I like, I keep refreshing until it updates :D Who is Rodney? Do I need to kill him? Has he hurt them? Ooh! I can help you there! Here is a bunch of replica throwing chairs from when Phineas and Ferb invented the Beak! Oh my gosh! You have a fedora! Do you work for OWCA as well? Can you get me Perry's autograph? That'd go amazing with my scrapbook page on the Second Dimension!**

**Sierra-275: (Irving) I know! She's so like second dimension Candace, which is totally epic. I have a scrapbook page on both of them :D Yay! A face! It totally does. That's my face when Albert is like 'Dude, aren't you being a little stalker-ish?'**

"Ferb! Run away! It's a trap!"

"Please run!"

Ferb's eyes glanced around the warehouse, assessing the situation, when his eyes locked with _his. _Ferb let a growl out of his throat as the twisted, egotistical man stood before him. Between him and his loved ones. His heart screamed at him to leap at him right there, but Ferb knew the guns were all trained on him, and at least one would be a fatal shot. So Ferb did what he did Peter. When _that _voice shouted fire, he ducked.

A searing pain shot up his left leg, like flames. It burnt and throbbed, and threatened to make him scream him in pain. He stumbled to the rough ground, breathing heavy and glaring up in front of himself at the man stood in front of him, laughing psychotically. The pain slowly began to fade: it was just a flesh wound, he could go on.

"Please run Ferb! You still have a chance!" Phineas shouted, his voice desperate and pleading. But Ferb recognised that his voice bore little hope, Phineas already knew that Ferb wasn't turning back now.

"Please Ferb! Listen to him! Just run!" Vanessa cried out. The pleas from his loved ones just pushed Ferb harder and further than before. While they were still in danger, Ferb wasn't backing down. He rose to his feet slowly again, all the guns rising with him. He saw the desperation in his loved one's eyes as his gaze met theirs for a moment.

"Never… I'm not letting you go again!" Ferb gritted his teeth as he put pressure on his left leg, causing a new pain to flare up. He looked around all the gunmen, and smiled at them.

"FIRE!" Ferb dived to the side as the bullets rained down towards him, and ran behind one of the pillars supporting the room and the gunmen opened fire again. Shot after shot ricocheted around the room, each missing as they closed in on where he was hiding. Ferb clenched his fists, and peered around the side of the pillar, then back toward Phineas and Vanessa. He took a deep breath and tensed himself, knowing he was certain to get shot.

Ferb pressed his hands against the pillars and swung his leg up, kicking the nearest gunman in the face, then spun himself round, elbowing the man in the jaw. He fell to the floor, and Ferb stood exposed. He ran at the next nearest gunman, bringing his fist down on the back of his head and jabbing him in the stomach. The man doubled over in pain, so Ferb took the opportunity to knee him in the face. The second man collapsed, but the remaining six closed in. Ferb crouched slightly, glaring at the men circling him. He could hear sobs from the back of the room, and watched as the circle parted slightly, and a man clad in white walked in the gap.

"Rodney…" Ferb hissed, his voice seething with anger. The scientist grinned at Ferb, rubbing his hands together. Ferb watched the man intently: his black eye, his military style white jacket, the way he limped slightly when he walked, the way he smiled intently.

"Now now Ferb, since when were you violent? I never knew you thought violence was the answer," Rodney mockingly scolded him. Ferb lunged at the sick, twisted man stood in front of him, fuelled by adrenaline, but he was pulled back roughly by two of Rodney's henchmen. Rodney tutted at Ferb, shaking his head in mock disgust, which annoyed Ferb even more.

"Hold him. I don't want him getting away. Anyway, I made a promise to Phineas, I can't break that can I?" The red head's eyes widened as he realised what Rodney was talking about, and he screamed out, struggling against the restraints holding him back.

"YOU SICK JERK! LET HIM GO!" Rodney ignored Phineas, and gestured for the men holding Ferb to follow Ferb, until they were positioned in front of Phineas and Vanessa. The other men followed behind, keeping their guns pointing on the British teenager, who continuously struggled against the two men holding him.

"Shoot him then her in the shoulder, leg, whatever, as long as it won't kill them," Rodney whispered to the nearest gunman, pointing towards his two hostages. The gunman nodded and aimed his gun. Ferb watched in horror as he pulled the trigger, not once, but twice, and both bullets ricocheted around the factory, followed by screams of pain. Ferb struggled against the men restraining him more than before, even after his muscles burnt and his throat was dry.

Then Rodney turned to him, and smiled at him, in a sick, psychotic way that made the boy freeze. His heart raced, yet he couldn't move. He stared wide-eyed at Rodney, as he realised that what he'd just done to his loved ones was just a sample of what he had coming. Rodney gestured for one of the other gunmen to come over.

"Now shoot him. I want him dead, but I want him to suffer as well. Draw it out." Rodney whispered to him, but Ferb still heard him. He was now certain the man was insane, but he also knew he wasn't bluffing. So Ferb tensed himself and gritted his teeth.

Bang. His shoulder burnt in agonising pain, where Peter had hit him, but it was worse. Much much worse. He grunted in pain, determined to not let Rodney get the satisfaction he wanted so desperately out of him, if nothing else.

"You see Ferb, you, Phineas and Heinz have always stood in my way. Better inventor, better evil scientist, blah blah blah!" he shouted, his tone venomous with anger and jealousy. "And I realised, that maybe if I took something precious to you, it'd stop you. I could be superior, rightfully superior."

Bang. He felt his left leg go weak as another pain engulfed it, far worse than the first one. He fell slightly, unable to support weight on his leg as his breathing became heavy and his teeth gritted tighter than before.

"STOP IT!" Vanessa screamed, her voice ravaged by sobs and whimpers for her loved one. Phineas screamed out, feeling an emotion he'd never felt before. Hatred.

* * *

><p>"Jeremy, can't it go any faster?" Candace shouted, her mind screaming that they would be too late if they didn't speed up. The map showed that they were only half way there, and they still had 10 minutes to go. It was far faster than the speed of any car, but still not fast enough. Jeremy tapped on the screen in front of him, another OWCA addition, and hit 'Deploy rocket boosters'.<p>

"Hold on guys!" He yelled as the engines increased in volume, until he could barely hear himself think. Jeremy watched the speed-o-meter rise, until it hit the humorously marked 'Speed of Sound'. It kept increasing until they were only a minute away. Jeremy slammed his foot on the brakes and retracted the rocket boosters, wanting to not attract attention to themselves. He lowered the altitude of the Sun Beater 9000, and kept moving forward until the factories came into view. Isabella, Perry and Candace all watched as they got closer and closer to their destination, each scared and anxious.

* * *

><p>Bang. His other leg fell limp. It felt like his waist downwards had been set on fire. All that held him up were the two men either side of him. Ferb's face contorted in pain, but he refused to scream like Rodney wanted him to so badly. Right now, he couldn't be more thankful for his generally quiet personality. But Phineas, on the other hand, hurled threat after threat at Rodney, and begged him to stop, while Vanessa sobbed uncontrollably.<p>

"And anyway Ferb. Who will actually miss you when you die? I mean, what are you on your own? Without your brother, you're nothing. It's always been Phineas and Ferb, when did your name ever come first? Did it ever deserve to come first?" Ferb recognised the anger in Rodney's tone. He realised it was probably due to his lack of reaction to pain, so now Rodney was trying psychological warfare. Ferb simply stayed silent and glared at him, his head slightly drooping. Rodney walked up to the boy and slapped him. "Answer me!"

* * *

><p>Jeremy lowered the Sun Beater 9000 as much as he could, then deployed the legs. He felt the machine hit solid ground, and smiled to himself. He shut off the engines, and the roof lifted up. Candace and Perry jumped out, followed by Isabella and Jeremy. Candace tightened her grip of her Bo staff, and led them around the warehouse they'd parked by. Jeremy held his gun up with two hands, his finger ready on the trigger, following his fiancé. Perry held his gun in one hand, and lowered his fedora with the other, hiding his eyes from sight. Isabella held her pole up with both her hands, ready to strike.<p>

Candace peered round the corner, spotting the black vans she'd seen in the GPS image. She glanced around to see if anyone else was around, and gestured for the small congregation behind her to follow her over to the vans.

* * *

><p>"Why so stubborn, Ferb Fletcher?" Rodney asked, and slapped him again, before backing away. Ferb could feel the darkness tugging at the corners of his mind, but he refused to let Rodney win. Good always prevailed over evil… didn't it?<p>

Rodney frowned at him. He'd wanted to play mind games, make this boy suffer for making him suffer, causing all his fellow scientists. He pointed at the floor to the two henchmen, and they dropped the green haired teenager. The pain was overwhelming as he fell on top of his legs, but Ferb smiled inwardly as he realised they'd made a mistake.

* * *

><p>"Is that it?" Isabella whispered to Candace, pointing to the factory they were in front of. Candace nodded and pulled Isabella back behind the black van they'd all crouched behind. She gestured for them all to come in, waving her hands frantically.<p>

"We need to get in, and Ferb, Phineas and Vanessa out. Be prepared to fight. The fact that Ferb hasn't left yet is bad, so expect the worst, but hope for the best. You all ready?" Candace whispered. Isabella smiled at her and nodded; Jeremy kissed her on the forehead and murmured "Always," in her ear; Perry saluted and tilted his fedora.

"Then let's go!"

* * *

><p>Ferb let his arm drop. He weakly fished around in his pocket, all his energy draining away at a scary pace. He found what he was looking for, and wrapped his hand around the Disable-inator, his finger hovering on the button. He let his head hang, as to fool Rodney. The evil scientist stood over him, smiling.<p>

"Kill him," Rodney said, his voice scarily cheerful.

"NO!" As the gunmen aimed his gun one last time at Ferb, the green-haired British boy took it as his cue to press the button. When the gun didn't fire, he looked up slightly to a frowning gunman, then over to Rodney, who was watching the teenager intently, and winked at him, with a cheeky grin.

* * *

><p>Candace and Perry ran ahead, backs pressed against the van. Jeremy and Isabella followed behind, waiting on Candace's command. The red head peered around the side of the van again, to check if anyone. Her heart was pounding, and her throat felt tight. She was genuinely more scared than she'd ever been before.<p>

Candace signalled for them to follow her across to the front wall of the factory, and each followed the wall along the factory to the entrance. They could hear shouting from inside. Candace looked back at Isabella, Perry and Jeremy, who each smiled at her or gave her a thumbs up. It was now or never…

* * *

><p>Rodney grabbed Ferb by the collar, and held him up, glaring daggers at the boy. Ferb hit him over the head with the remote with the strength left in his good arm, and smiled at the evil scientist as he successfully wound the jerk up. He was buying them time. Now, Ferb just had to wish for someone else to turn up before Rodney resorted to some other method of murder.<p>

"Why do you always ruin everything?" Rodney shouted. Ferb noticed that he had two black eyes, one still in the early stages of forming. He could only guess his brother or Vanessa had put up a fight at one point. Ferb simply stared at him, refusing to answer him, just to annoy the man further. If he kept the scientist's attention on him, then Phineas and Vanessa might still be rescued and survive.

"Get your hands off my brother!" A new voice to the room shouted. Everyone's head apart from Ferb's snapped up. Ferb knew who it was though. He knew that Phineas and Vanessa were going to be safe. Ferb stopped fighting the pain, and allowed it to take over him. He wanted to scream out in agony, but just bit his lip as his vision grew dark, knowing it was only a little longer.

It didn't hurt as much when Rodney dropped him the second time, the pain simply flared a little more. He whimpered slightly, more than certain he wouldn't be able to use his legs for a while. He held his head up a little, and smiled at Phineas and Vanessa one last time before letting the darkness pull him under…

**I(Irving)/N  
>Oh my gawd! How could he do that to my Ferb? How? I-I-I don't understand how he could do that? Where's my gun? I neeeed a gun! Oh, and huggablelove asked me to ask you to leave reviews!<br>Irving is out to go hunt scientists and authors!**


	17. Author note

**Right now, I'm debating carrying on this version, or re-writing it, because it could get tricky for me to continue. So I'm asking your opinions. Sorry about the delays. Stress and school and writers block and persistent self doubt. So yeah**.


	18. Retaliation

**A/N  
>Right, thank you. I'm really sorry about the massive wait. I'm honestly surprised people are still interested. So thank you. I have to warn you, this chapter is kinda bam. There is a lot of fluffiness, there are suicidal thoughts, there is a hell of a lot of BAMF!characters, and possibly some OOCness, but I tried. Oh, and we have the famous first kiss. I felt I owed to you guys. I'm really sorry, and thank you again.<strong>

**BroadwayFanGirl91: I've read your story, Who Will Rescue Me, and I loved it, you are an amazing writer! Oh god! Please no! I'll, um, set Emperor Doofenshmirtz on you! With his Normbot army! And thank you, and sorry! (Irving says hi to your sister!)**

**NattyMc: :(**

**teacup918: As long as you don't hurt those Irving fanboys about, you'll be fine :)**

**MuchuFox: Haha, I prefer to make the plot line run quicker at parts like that, so it's more BAM!ish if you get what I mean, but don't worry, I often get excited over chapters :)**

**Wii Guy: I'm super sorry about that, I have the one where I'd replied to your review saved on my laptop, I think I must've submitted an earlier version or it spazzed or something :( Don't give Irving that! He's dangerous enough un-armed! Oh what am I thinking, giving him weapons next story :/ Damn, that message just blew up in my face. Guess I deserve that though.**

**Sierra-275: Hell yes, Ferb is a total Bruce Lee at first! But Rodney truly is evil, and always being defeated has just pushed him further and further over the limits, to the point where he became mentally insane. Dennis is in the next story, Heart of Courage, the sequel to this.**

**WordNerb93: Irving is very useful when he wants to be :) And I do recall that, so well done! Andhe has got a few injuries. Bruises, his limp mentioned in this chapter, as well as last I think. Thank you for the protection, it is appreciated. Ooh, I'd love an autograph!**

**writer-person2: Thank you :)**

**RSM: Thank you, and yeah, poor Ferb. Sorry for the late update.**

**Thank you to everyone who replied to the last post. I can't thank you enough. You guys are my motivation to continue this story, so know that no matter what, I will finish this off, just for you guys!**

Candace crouched, and begun spinning her Bo staff, glaring at Rodney. Isabella stood by her, holding the metal pipe above her, her expression a terrifying mix of anger and vengeance. Jeremy had dropped his gun when he realised it didn't work, and stood next to his fiancé with his fists held up. Perry held his fedora in one arm, ready to throw it. His bill was twisted in a frown, and the small group held their position by the door.

"Well what are you waiting for? GET THEM!" Rodney shouted. The gunmen looked nervously between themselves, before running at the rescue team by the door. Candace looked at them, not letting her fear show, tensing herself and gripped her Bo staff.

As the first one neared her, she spun around, lifting her staff up high, and swung it into the back of his head. The thrill of the fight rushed through her as she fought side-by-side with her fiancé, her platypus, and soon to be sister-in-law. Jeremy controlled his fists with grace, jabbing at the stomach to wind his attacker, then elbowing him in the face. Perry worked alongside Jeremy, and finished the man off with a sharp hit over the back of the head with his tail. His side throbbed worse than before, but Perry ignored it like he'd ignored the doctors

"Isabella! Take over for me, I'm going after Rodney!" she shouted over the noise of the conflict. Isabella nodded at her. Candace threw her Bo staff in the air and ran around the man on the floor in front of her. She held her hand up and snatched the twirling the staff from the air. The man behind her grunted, so she struck him again to make sure he stayed down.

"Get out here! You COWARD!" she shouted when she couldn't Rodney. She saw a glint of silver flashing behind one of the pillars near to the back. Candace gripped her Bo staff tightly between her hands, and ran over, desperate to get the battle over as quickly as she could. She swung her Bo staff around from the opposite side of the pillar, to be met with a metallic clang.

* * *

><p>Isabella swung the metal pole above her head, then smacked it into the gunman's head in front of her. She shuddered at the crack it made, but continued, knowing it was them injured or her closest friends dead. She swung the pole again, and hit him in the ribs. The man wailed in pain and collapsed in front of her. Isabella couldn't believe she'd actually done that: she'd always been against violence.<p>

Perry jumped up, using one of his favourite moves, and hit the man in front of him with his beaver tail. Another grabbed hold of Perry, and the platypus wriggled, trying to get out of his grab. The man he'd hit stood up, and neared him with a menacing smile on his face. He pulled his fist back as the platypus tensed himself, gritting his teeth. His shut his eyes and chattered lightly under his breath in anticipation.

After a few seconds, when the punch never came, Perry opened his eyes to Jeremy wrestling with the man almost twice his size, and Isabella standing victoriously over yet another collapsed man on the floor. He took the opportunity to bite the man's hand, and jump out of his grasp when the gunman grabbed his hand, whimpering like a little girl. Perry chuckled softly, then floored the man in a move that seemed completely and utterly impossible for a monotreme his size and strength, whether trained as a secret agent or not.

Perry smiled as the last man fell, then winced as he felt jabs of pain shooting up his side. He felt along his side gently until Perry reached a spot that made him wince. One of his ribs had re-broken. He frowned, but knew it wasn't major. Right now, all that was on his mind was getting the dying green-haired boy to a hospital. Perry ran to the boy and held his hand, his eyes looking pleadingly to Jeremy and Isabella.

* * *

><p>Rodney walked out in front of Candace, holding a staff similar to hers, only metal. He gripped it tight, and neared her with a slight limp in his step. Candace crouched slightly with one leg out-stretched, holding the staff in front of her. She swung it upwards, then twisted, and aimed her blow for Rodney's head. Rodney lifted his staff and blocked it, causing the vibration to jar Candace's arm. She winced, and pulled the staff back, preparing to strike down on Rodney.<p>

Rodney ducked below Candace's swing, and thrust his into her leg, causing her to fall backwards. Rodney held his staff up, and swung it down at the girl on the floor. Candace rolled out the way and grabbed her Bo staff lying beside her, and held it above her vertically as Rodney swung at her again. When his staff hit hers, she twisted hers sharply, knocking the weapon out of Rodney's hand.

With Rodney left defenceless, Candace made the most of her opportunity and swung her staff into his back, then knocked his legs from underneath him. Rodney fell to the ground, with a short wail of pain and eyes wide from shock, before blacking out. Candace looked down at him and let out a sigh of relief, taking a short breath whilst leaning on her Bo staff. Her arms ached, but the moment she could move again without fear of her legs collapsing, she looked around from behind the pillar. Perry was already with Ferb, whilst Isabella and Jeremy just checked the state of the men piled in front of them.

Candace dropped her staff to the side, and ran towards her brother and Vanessa, smiling with tears of joy in her eyes. Her heart thumped faster again: not out of fear, but out of joy. Candace was so happy that they actually succeeded, but she knew the happiness wouldn't be long lived as she thought about her other brother, dying on the floor.

"Candace…" The red head murmured as his sister ran towards him and Vanessa, his voice filled with relief, but still worried. Candace didn't stop: she raced her way around the back of them, and tugged at the ropes holding the two hostages back until they fell in a heap behind the two chairs. Both Phineas and Vanessa both reacted in the same way: they both pulled their hands forward, rubbing their wrists gently. Phineas blinked, then threw himself at Candace, hugging her tightly. She could feel that he'd missed the human contact, the joy of a simple hugging embrace.

Vanessa stood up shakily, her legs weak, her eyes trained on the boy lying in the middle of the room. She didn't notice herself start to run, or notice the tears that ran down her face and the two people running behind her. Just the boy who lay in the middle of the room.

She dropped to her knees beside him, and held on of Ferb's hand tight within her own trembling ones, murmuring softly under her breath, pleading to any deity to allow him to live. She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and cradled him in to her chest, crying. Vanessa looked up and her gaze met that of an aquamarine one, crouched the other side of Ferb, holding his other hand, looking just as terrified for the boy who lay on the floor.

* * *

><p>Isabella hissed and swung her pipe round one last time, desensitized to the crack of bones that followed it. Hurting people wasn't in her nature, and wasn't something she wanted to do, but if it was someone who'd just kidnapped and hurt the love of her life, all of Isabella's morals went out the window, and she couldn't care less for them anymore. The man fell to the floor, and she let out a breath, her muscles crying out in agony. She watched as Perry and Jeremy took the last gunman down with a few skilful blows, and felt herself snap back to reality.<p>

Everything passed by so quickly around her, and she felt complete out of place running passed the multiple passed out gunmen towards the small gathering in the centre of the room. And yet when Isabella wrapped her arms around the red-headed boy in front of her, she knew it would all be alright. Phineas turned to face her, and without even realising what she was doing, Isabella let instinct take her.

Isabella kissed Phineas.

She felt her heart leap as their lips met lightly, and the blush rising in her cheeks as her face burnt. She held him close to her, and she felt like her world was complete again, as she kissed the love of her life. She felt Phineas relax into the kiss, and realised the feeling was mutual. Isabella's stomach flipped, and all the negative emotions she'd felt over the last few days just melted away.

Phineas was taken by shock when Isabella kissed him: it was so unexpected, yet it felt so right. So perfectly right. And it was in that moment that he'd realised he had loved the girl kneeling in front of him for his whole life. He knew there and then that he would walk to hell and back for Isabella, die for Isabella, just to make her happy. He let himself kiss her back, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

The kiss seemed to last forever, yet when Isabella pulled away, it felt too short for both of them. Isabella looked into Phineas' eyes and smiled slightly at him, clasping his hand between hers, squeezing it in reassurance. He smiled weakly back at her, and looked back at his dying brother. The emotions all threw themselves onto him again, and Phineas felt like he was drowning in pain again.

* * *

><p>Jeremy ran towards Candace the moment the last man fell to the ground in front of him. It broke his heart to watch his fiancé in so much pain, and his primary reaction was to try and comfort her. So he ran. As fast as his legs could take him. And as each step passed, he wished he could run just that little bit faster, and help Candace through her anger and sorrow just that little bit sooner.<p>

Jeremy threw his arms around Candace and held her tight in a comforting hug. He felt her hug back, and smiled ever so slightly as her shaking body pressed against his in the embrace. Candace pulled out of the hug, and turned around to smile at Jeremy. He noticed as her smile increased tenfold, and furrowed his eyebrows curiously at her. She simply pointed to behind him, and Jeremy turned around to see something he'd been anticipating for a long time. Phineas and Isabella kissing.

He wrapped an arm around Candace's shoulder and smiled at her gently. Her eyes watered in the sunlight cutting through the warehouse, brimming with tears just begging to flow up. She looked down at Ferb, and dropped to her knees again, checking his pulse, and watching Vanessa carefully as she pulled him into her chest. Jeremy crouched down and put his arms around the green haired boy, looking sympathetically at Vanessa.

"May I?" Jeremy asked, getting ready to lift the boy and run. He knew they had to get Ferb as quickly as they could, but didn't want to upset Vanessa even more. She looked at him pleadingly, and nodded her head ever slightly.

"Please… Take him…"

* * *

><p>Vanessa held onto Ferb's hand with one hand, and held his head into her chest with the other, tears flowing down her face. Her heart was breaking as she held the love of her life in her arms as he was dying, bleeding to death, all because he was prepared to sacrifice himself for her and Phineas. If he died, Vanessa knew she'd never forgive herself. She'd probably kill herself, with the hope that maybe heaven really did exist so they could be together again. Either way, she knew she wouldn't be able to go on living without the British boy in her life: there would be no point to life without him.<p>

She watched Jeremy crouch down in front of Ferb, and begin to wrap his arms around the dying boy. She looked at him pleadingly, and nodded when he asked if he could take Ferb. If it meant she had to be without him a little longer, Vanessa would wait. She would wait forever if it meant Ferb would live, if there was even the slightest chance he would live.

As Jeremy stood with Ferb lying limp in his arms, Vanessa forced her shaking legs to carry her as well, and prepared herself to run, knowing she'd force herself to run to the end of the world if need be.

* * *

><p>As Jeremy rose with Ferb, the rest of the group copied. Jeremy ran as fast as he could, faster than he'd ever ran before, knowing that if he wasn't fast enough, the green haired boy in his arms would die. And Jeremy wasn't prepared to let that happen any day. Ferb was soon to be his brother in law, but to Jeremy he was already family, so Jeremy felt obligations similar to what he felt towards Suzy, his biological sister.<p>

They all ran. Out the warehouse. In a race against time…

**A/N  
>Thank you guys for convincing me to go on. I want to finish this, because it's my first fanfic, so thanks :)<strong>


	19. Desperation

**A/N  
>Hi there. Um yeah, just a pre-warning, the last line is OOC, but in the conditions it's spoken under, I think anyone would be OOC in. So yeah. Oh, and there is a little bit of swearing, once thought, once spoken. Right, that's the warnings done I think. I might upload another chapter tonight, I feel awful leaving you guys with the last line, I think it's my worst cliff hanger so far, gosh that's saying something! Also, my target for the end of this story, which I estimate to be around chapter 25-30, is for 200 reviews, so if you guys could help, it'd be really awesome to hit that on my first story. Thanks.<strong>

**NattyMc: Let's keep our fingers crossed then!**

**writer-person2: Thank you :)**

**WordNerb93: We must keep our fingers crossed for Ferb! Yup, the power of true love! It so obvious they're meant to be together, have you seen Meapless in Seattle yet? I'd love to make an appearance if that's okay, thank you!**

**Radar180: Aww, thank you! That means a lot to me, especially with it being my first fanfiction!**

**Wii Guy: Aww, thank you, and I'll go over and have a look at them tonight! I can't wait to see them :) Huzzah for Enduring Sibling Bond, we need a new name for Oblivious Crush now! And come on, Age Gap Couple! Oh my god, I watched Meapless in Seattle, and it has to be one of the best episodes so far. I actually thought after it, that's like all the intense parts of ATSD crammed into half an hour. And that's the purest Phinbella we've had in episode form! (nothing can top the first kiss)**

**ReneeSpector: Aww, thank you!**

**Sierra-275: That's a beautiful quote, I'll have to remember that one, and thank you. The main point of the author note chapter was to see if people were actually bothered about the story. If anyone actually wanted me to carry on, I would, but I wasn't sure, as I didn't think it was that great a story, and after a month, I would've lost interest. Despite the fact that it makes no plot contribution to the story, it kinda provided the reason for me to keep writing, that's why I haven't took it down, and yay! Smileys!**

**MuchuFox: Thank you, and yeah, I couldn't leave it all loose haha…**

Footsteps pounded the ground in a stampede, a desperate rush towards the Sun Beater 9000 parked up behind the cluster of factories. Words and shouts slurred in a desperate panic for the fallen hero, soon to be martyr, as the group of friends, rescuers and victims alike, raced against time.

"Candace! I see it! Run ahead! Open up!" Jeremy yelled over the puffs and shouts of panic. His eyes were focused on the grey and red plane in front of them all. Candace gritted her teeth and gave Jeremy thumbs up, before running forward with Isabella while desperately fishing for the keys in her pocket.

The machine whirred and the roof slid backwards when Candace hit the key fob. She jumped inside and started the engine up, the revving clouding up her already panicked and muddled thoughts. The moment she sat down in the driver's seat, her legs cried out in pain, and she realised just how hard she'd pushed herself, and how much harder she'd push herself if need be. As much as Candace had never shown it, her brothers meant the world to her, and without them, life would be the most boring, dull thing ever. Summer would be unthinkable, all the opportunities that she'd miss.

Her head snapped to the side as the pounding increased again, breaking her out of her trail of thoughts. Perry had jumped up over the side of the Sun Beater 9000, and had pulled Phineas over the edge. Vanessa stood by the side, helping Jeremy move Ferb gently over the side. Candace almost jumped out of her seat and took her brother from Jeremy's arms. She looked down at him, her eyes repulsed from the multiple places where the blood had stained his clothing with a sickly red. Candace felt the tears dancing down her cheeks, and felt the hatred she had for Rodney increase exponentially.

"Candace…" She jerked her head around at the sound of her name to come face to face with her fiancé, looking worriedly at her and Ferb. She snapped back to reality, fuelled by panic and fading adrenaline.

"Sorry… I can't concentrate at all… I just don't know what to do Jeremy…" She looked down at the boy in her arms, and back to the love her life, panicked and confused. Her thoughts were muddled and clouded by the tsunami of emotions she had crash on her within the last few minutes. The fear, the worry, the anger, the happiness, the power. It overwhelmed her.

"Candace, bring Ferb back here. I know basic first aid, I should be able to help," Isabella called out. Candace nodded and moved towards the Fireside leader, whom she noticed was holding onto Phineas' hand like it was the last thing she'd ever do. Perry began rummaging about underneath the seats, until he pulled out a green first aid box, and laid it down on the chairs lining the back of the plane-hovercraft. Vanessa held Ferb's head gently between her hands, and helped Candace lay him down on the chairs.

The engine revved again, and Candace felt the vehicle jolt as Jeremy pushed the lever forward and lifted the Sun Beater 9000 off the ground. Vanessa held onto Ferb's hand, rubbing it between her hands and pleading softly under her breath with a shaky voice. Phineas looked on wide-eyed as Isabella ran her hands over the unconscious boy gently, wrapping bandages around him as she found wound after wound.

"Um, how many times was he, you know, shot…" Isabella asked nervously, quite worried about the amount of bullet wounds she'd found scattered across the boy, all obviously intended to hurt, not to be fatal.

"I-I don't know. I think, 5? I don't know…"Phineas mumbled. Vanessa bit her lip, paling by the minute. Isabella squeezed the red-haired boy's hand, but couldn't contain the worried look at Ferb, eyes scanning over his stained clothes.

"Guys, you need to sit down. Now. Jeremy, can you put the boosters on again? We need to get him to a hospital, or Ferb's going to, um, bleed to death…" Phineas and Vanessa looked at Isabella desperately after she spoke, not wanting to leave Ferb's side. Candace moved to the front by Jeremy to help him man the ship, and Perry stood by Isabella, looking empathetically between Phineas and Vanessa.

"Sorry, but you need to. You'll just get hurt when the boosters are put on, and I need space to try and help him-"

"Please Isabella…" Vanessa begged her. Isabella mouthed please at Phineas, the teenager looking torn. Eventually, he tugged slightly on Vanessa's sleeve and led her away, toward the empty seats in front.

* * *

><p>"Vanessa…" She looked to the right, at Phineas, sat beside her. She noticed how concerned he looked at her, the worry in his eyes, but presumed it was all for his brother. Her love. Who lay dying behind them.<p>

"Vanessa, show me your shoulder…" She furrowed her brow at him, confused by his request. Then it hit her as she realised. As she remembered. _She'd been shot too…_

Vanessa pulled down the torn shirt covering her shoulder, thankfully black so the blood hadn't stained it. As she looked at it, how it bled, the adrenaline began to wear off, and the pain came back. Pulsating and throbbing in her shoulder, the pain running up and down her arm. Phineas watched her worriedly as her face contorted after seeing it, remembering it. Then she screamed.

* * *

><p>Candace sat next to Jeremy in the front of the Sun Beater 9000, helping her fiancé control the vehicle. Isabella asked them to move away, so she was at least going to carry on being helpful. It helped numb her emotions as well, being beside Jeremy. He had a calming effect on her, and she really needed that after seeing her brother lying in a pool of his own blood, half dead. She wanted to stay with Ferb, but she respected the fact that Isabella was the closest they had to a medical professional. Then she heard a scream echoing throughout the vehicle.<p>

"CANDACE!" Candace twisted around, looking over the chair to see Vanessa in pain, and her youngest brother looking more worried than before, something she didn't think was possible. She manoeuvred herself over the chair in front of the two of them as Jeremy activated the rocket boosters. Candace winced as she hit into the chair behind her, but refocused quickly.

"You got shot too?" She asked, then mentally facepalmed at the stupidity of her question. "Can I get a proper look?" Vanessa nodded slowly, gritting her teeth. Candace pulled at the hem of her top slightly, angling so the light shone on the wound. She grimaced, and noticed it was still bleeding.

"Okay, stay still, I'll go and see if I can get some bandages. Try and apply pressure." Candace smiled softly at Vanessa, before moving around the chairs back to Isabella. Candace felt her stomach twist again when she saw Ferb. She could see where he'd been shot in the knees by _that sick bastard._Just to hurt him even more. Not kill him instantly. Make him die slowly. Suffer for longer.

Candace took a deep breath and looked away, appalled by how someone could be so twisted and cruel. She rummaged through the First Aid kit, taking one of the rolls of bandage. She turned around, determined not to look at her broken brother again. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Before Candace could move far, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Who else was hurt, Candace?" Isabella asked, her voice soft and calm, despite how she felt inside. Inside, she was screaming with fear and panic and happiness. Her best friend was dying, her crush had let her know the feeling was mutual. She was torn whether to be elated or completely and utterly panicked.

"Vanessa. She was shot."

"I'll go have a look. I've done all I can for Ferb, just stay here and keep an eye on his pulse for me." Candace nodded. She knew that listening to Isabella would benefit everyone most. As much as the thought of having to see Ferb scared her, as she realised it was her fault he was so badly injured. If she'd only been quicker, they could've stopped Rodney.

* * *

><p>Isabella cut away the material around Vanessa's wound, and rubbed the disinfectant alcohol over it, trying to be as gentle as possible, knowing it stung. She began to wind the bandage around the wound, quickly but gently, and applied pressure, before moving Vanessa's other hand to where hers was to maintain the pressure.<p>

Isabella twisted herself around to Phineas after checking Vanessa over for any other major injuries, and smiled at him. Until she noticed the blood stain on his shirt. Which kept growing.

"Phineas… Show me…" The teenager blinked at her in fake confusion, and tried to act like he didn't know what she was talking about. Isabella arched an eyebrow at him, and pulled his top down to expose the bullet wound.

"Phineas… Why didn't you say anything?" She asked, slightly annoyed at how he'd tried to hide a bullet wound from her. He tried looking at her sweetly, smiling and acting innocent, until he decided on modesty.

"It's nothing. Ferb is much worse, I'm fine!" He protested. Isabella, despite the situation, couldn't help the amusement she felt at how he believed a bullet shot was 'fine'. She began rubbing in the disinfectant alcohol, much to his annoyance and pouty face, and wrapped it with bandages.

"Only you, Phineas Flynn, only you…" Isabella smiled at him and laughed slightly. This time, he looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

* * *

><p>Candace rested two fingers on Ferb's wrist, and held his hand with her free hand. Her eyes scanned at each red stain across his body, at each bruise forming over his face and body, and felt like she was going to be sick. She was meant to protect him, she was meant to protect both of them, and she'd failed. Rodney had gotten to them, and broken them, physically and mentally, because she had <em>failed.<em>

Candace felt the warm streams down her face growing in frequency, and realised she was still crying. She hadn't stopped crying since they'd got out the warehouse. Maybe she'd started before that, but Candace couldn't remember. She couldn't remember much at all, just fear and panic and her overwhelming desire to beat Rodney to death.

Candace was quickly brought back to reality, out of her world of thoughts, by something. Or more accurately, a lack of something. Her grip on Ferb's wrist tightened as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"Shit! Isabella! We're losing him! There's no pulse!"

**A/N  
>Okay, I feel really bad after that. Really, really bad. I know if I'd just read that I'd tried and kill the author. So adios until I post the next chapter! Irving will take care of you!<strong>

**I(Irving)/N**  
><strong>What the hell? I really don't like the way this girl keeps using me each time she hurts people! Gosh!<strong>


	20. Arrival

**A/N  
>Sorry guys, I have no time to answer reviews today, but I will answer all the reviews for last chapter and this chapter next time round. Super duper sorry there.<strong>

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." Candace pressed down on Ferb's chest repeatedly with shaking hands over and over again, checking his pulse every ten compressions. She never noticed Isabella behind, or Phineas and Vanessa, until Isabella pushed her out the way and took over pumping down on the British boy's chest. Candace opened her mouth, but shut it again when she realised it'd work better if they rotated. She heard sobs from all around her, and was pretty certain some had escaped her own throat.

"Please don't do this Ferb! I love you! I need you!" Vanessa begged, running her hand through his green hair. "I always loved you Ferb, ever since the moment we met. Please, Ferb Fletcher, don't do this!" Vanessa felt like her heart was being torn into tiny pieces, ready to be scattered so she could never be complete again. She couldn't lose Ferb: he meant the world to her, he was the world to her. She saw Phineas hold his hand, fingers wrapped around his wrist, searching desperately for a pulse.

"Ferb, bro, without you, I couldn't of made any of those miracles happen that we invented day after day. So, please, just one more time, beat the impossible. I'll help you. Just don't die on me. I need you!" Phineas' voice was eerily devoid of its usual cheerfulness and glee that everyone else relied on to cheer them up in hard times, and it scared the people around him to hear the energetic boy so sad.

"Ferb, I know I always used to try to bust you, but I couldn't be prouder of you. If you left us, life would become so dull. There wouldn't be any point in living anymore. Don't leave us, please!" Candace looked down in sorrow, desperate for something, anything. She wished for her brother to stay alive, harder than she'd ever wished before. It was then Candace can to the conclusion that it was her fault. If she'd have been faster, even just a minute, they could've stopped it. They could've saved him. She blamed herself, the guilt pressing down on her, crushing her.

Perry tilted his head downwards with his paws clasped together hopefully, yet even he began to doubt if Ferb would survive. He longed more than ever for a voice to pay tribute to his owner, and felt something he hadn't felt since he was a platypup: a tear. It ran down his fur, leaving a warm, salty trail behind it. Perry chattered quietly and took his fedora off, holding it to his chest.

Candace nudged Isabella slightly and took over the compressions, despite the protests her burning arms were giving. She refused to give up despite her mind telling her that it was pointless, that she couldn't bring him back now. Isabella reached out for Phineas' hand, and squeezed it, trying to reassure the boy, when she knew that she wasn't in the best position to try and do so, needing consoling herself.

"Ferb, without you and your brother, I don't know where I would be. You should me to believe that the impossible was only so if we made it that way. Oh, and your oblivious brother finally figured it out. If you're not coming back for anything, you need to come back to see that. I owe you a fiver, remember?" She let a weak chuckle escape her throat, much to her love's confusion, though Phineas decided he'd ask her later about it, when Ferb was back, and safely with them, because in the boy's mind, there was no if about it. Ferb would be back.

Perry watched, agonised, as his youngest owner gave up, letting his brother's arm drop limp from his grasp. It pained the mammal to see his family so hurt and torn apart. He reached out with his paws, holding the hand tightly into his chest as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the tears that fell down his face. Perry prayed for a miracle more than ever now, just one miracle. He was desperate: desperate for something, anything to bring his boy back.

Perry felt a warm, comforting hand on his shoulder, contrasting with the cool one he hugged tightly to his chest, holding on as if it would actually help the boy in some way. He knew they were just trying to help, but all the hand did was remind him of how lifeless the boy in front of him was. How still and cold Ferb lay.

No-one had noticed when the Sun Beater 9000 had stopped, or that Jeremy had left. The blonde haired man ran back, tailed by a team of paramedics. They barely kept up with Jeremy, running faster than he thought he could. For the second time in one day. Jeremy didn't give a damn though. Although Jeremy wasn't a close to Ferb as the rest of the occupants of the vehicle, the boy was still like family to him, and had never said a bad word against him.

"Over here," he called out to the doctors behind him as he climbed in to the Sun Beater 9000. He gently pushed his way through the gathering of his friends and almost-family, and lifted Ferb from the seats. Two of the doctors helped him move the green-haired boy out of the vehicle and onto the stretcher outside, where the doctors rushed him inside the hospital. The group of friends chased after them until one of the doctors stopped them, asking them to wait in the waiting room as Ferb was being taken in for emergency surgery if they could get his heart started again. Candace thanked the doctor weakly, and walked towards the waiting rooms slowly, trailed by her friends. She felt numb. Like nothing mattered anymore. Her legs felt like they were about to buckle underneath her weight, but she didn't care. She didn't feel anything.

Perry walked ever so slightly behind Candace, feeling like he might be sick. His stomach twisted and his throat tightened, and though Perry knew Ferb was in the best hands, he couldn't help but let the fear dominate his mind and heart, his every movement and every thought. The emotional pain he felt was mentally killing him. It was like a massive part of him had just been torn from him and carelessly thrown away.

Phineas and Isabella walked side by side, holding one another's hand. But for them, it wasn't a sign of their love, or their relationship, but more an action of comfort for themselves, knowing that if Ferb was lost, they had each other to help them through the undoubtedly hard time that would entail the boy's death. Phineas couldn't help but notice the irony that in one day, he'd found part of the jigsaw puzzle of his life, but had another part taken away from him. Isabella couldn't bear the idea of losing her best friend whom she shared so many memories with, whilst she was terrified for Phineas and how he'd cope with losing his brother, his closest friend.

Jeremy quickened his pace, trying to catch up with his fiancé. He knew that out of the group, he was the least affected, and it still pained him greatly. He also knew what Candace was like, and was more than certain that if she hadn't already blamed herself, it wouldn't be long until she did, and Jeremy feared how much of an impact that would have on her. Jeremy was more than certain that it would break Candace to the point where he couldn't put her back together again.

The group sat in silence apart from the noises of crying in the waiting room. Doctors came and went, pleading with them to be checked over by a medical professional, but each one of them refused to move until they had news. Hours ticked by, dragging on, seeming far longer than they actually were, dragging the emotions to extents they hadn't reached before with them. The atmosphere was tense, and just grew worse as time passed until one of the doctors finally entered to say something other than they needed to be checked over.

"Are you the group who came in with Ferb Fletcher, the boy with green hair?" There were multiple desperate nods from around the room, urging the doctor to carry on talking.

"We managed to stabilise his condition, thankfully, but he is currently in a medically induced coma in the ICU. We've had to put him onto a heart machine to help pump the blood around, but we are confident that he will recover." The doctor tried to sound as cheerful as one could whilst telling a large group of friends and family that their loved one was still severely injured and not out of the woods.


	21. Saviour

**A/N  
>Nice long chapter for you guys today! Straight onto reviews.<br>Chapter 19 reviews:**

**WordNerb93: Thank you, Irving passed the message along to me! He's not hurt badly, just a bullet to the shoulder. Well I guess you can't say that's not bad, but compared to his brother, yeah… Oh, that'd be fantastic! And I loved Meapless in Seattle!**

**MuchuFox: Haha, I hope you're joking, otherwise I may have to kill some characters to take revenge, though I don't know how I would do that, being severely injured…**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: I know! Poor Ferb!**

**Wii Guy: I do apologise for that, I'm quite evil to characters some days! I absolutely love Meapless in Seattle, definitely one of the best episodes so far I reckon.**

**writer-person2: Sorry about that!**

**NattyMc: I know right! And I shall!**

**Sierra-275: Ah, don't worry, no more cliffhangers until the epilogue, which is about 7-8 chapters away now! Monogram is in this chapter, finally! He took long enough!**

**ReneeSpector: Sorry! I seem to have a thing for cliffhangers! And thank you! Happy late Easter to you too!**

**iheartphinabella05: I know, poor Ferb!**

**anon: They are armed gunmen, but if you remember, when Ferb was dropped, he used the device Doofenshmirtz gave him, and disabled the guns, but also disabled all electronics within the warehouse too, meaning no mobiles or anything worked.**

**Chapter 20 reviews:**

**NattyMc: Yus he does!**

**iheartphinabella05: Yup, the doctors are always right! He'll pull through (this time), he's a fighter! Aw, sorry aout that! I'm actually kind of happy though that I can cause such an emotional response in someone though!**

**WordNerb93: Thank you, and no he can't! He is Ferb Fletcher! Yup, that will be added in eventually, once all is good again, for the time being anyway!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Haha, wow! I shall present you with the next chapter now! Sorry for the wait!**

**Radar180: I'm so glad, and here shall be the next chapter!**

**PFTones3482beinglazy: Haha, it's okay, and here is the update!**

**Wii Guy: I know! But she feels responsible for them, being all grown up and stuff. And yup, thank you doctors! Doofy is coming in in this chapter. He's mainly being fretting and rocking backwards and forwards in a corner! I wish you luck!**

**MuchuFox: Yus, come on Ferb! I do apologise for the wait, here is the update!**

**Sierra-275: Sorry about that, we have the next chapter here!**

"You… You mean, he's alive?" Vanessa couldn't stop the words from forcing themselves out her mouth. She felt happy, glad, relieved, there was no word that could properly describe the level of elation she felt, yet she still doubted it. Vanessa knew how long Ferb had been without a pulse, and she knew he'd lost a lot of blood. The tiny bit of doubt left still tugged away at her thoughts.

"He's definitely alive. He should be awake within a few days, and able to move without severe pain in around a week." Candace gulped. In a few days' time, their parents would be back from the holiday. It was either tell them now and have them rush back, or tell them later and face punishment, but have time to come up with a feasible story.

"Thank you… Thank you so much…" Phineas blurted out. He didn't know what he wanted to say, or how to say it, so he just opened his mouth and spoke. Isabella squeezed his hand slightly as she heard the quiver in his voice, but she was delighted that there was nothing at all left of his depressing, fearful tone. She smiled at the doctor, and hugged her boyfriend (?) tightly, thankful that they hadn't lost the British teenager, who though brave, Isabella had decided he was idiotic too, for trying to pull off a one-man rescue mission, more than certain that he was going to be killed or at least severely injured.

"If possible, we want to have you all checked over by doctors. The police want a statement as well. I'm sorry, but we're obliged to report things like, well, _that…"_The doctor trailed off. Candace felt rather panicked, not sure how to confront the situation that had arisen. Go take down a bunch of armed goonies and a maniacal scientist? Any day. But this? Candace couldn't think of a way out of the situation.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," spoke a new voice from behind the doctor. He twisted to have multiple papers thrust at him. The doctor scanned over them quickly, then rushed off, almost running. Perry chattered in amusement: he'd already figured out who it was. The doctor had run off to the police, to tell them to get lost. This was over their head.

Major Monogram walked in, accompanied by Carl, seemingly stuck to the man. He smiled at them, and let a breath of relief out at seeing Phineas and Vanessa, and his best agent uninjured. His smile quickly dissolved though, to be replaced with a scowl.

"We appreciate it, we do, but do you realise how idiotic that was? You're incredibly lucky no-one was killed! We have Rodney in custody, but only because of the tracking device in the Sun Beater 9000. What would've you done if you'd been ambushed? If more people got injured?" Major Monogram sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, before rubbing sleep deprived eyes. "Look, at least get check-ups. I promise you the moment it becomes possible, Ferb will be moved to our medical wing. We'll have the best looking after him. But right now, you have to try and think about your own health." He looked toward Candace, the self-designated leader of the group present, trying to win her over. She glanced at him, then nodded slightly.

"Carl, go fetch our doctors," he said with a cheeky smile, and a deep chuckle. Perry rolled his eyes: trust Monogram to bring his own team of doctors. The platypus often wondered if the power had gotten to his superior's mind, as whenever the opportunity presented itself, Major Monogram was swift in using his power to try and solve it. Carl walked back in, followed by multiple pharmacist-type people, who had obviously each been designated someone, as they moved in a swift, practised, uncluttered fashion, then proceeded to vacating the hospital's free rooms with whom they'd been told to treat. Monogram just stood, smiling smugly and looking rather pleased with himself. Carl just looked at him curiously, wondering whether to upgrade his threat status from 'minimum threat'.

* * *

><p>The man glanced between the rather bruised girl with swollen eyes sat before him, and the bullet wound in her shoulder, a wound he hadn't expected or been informed to expect. The roughly-wrapped bandages lay discarded on the floor next to them.<p>

"You've been shot…" Vanessa creased her brow slightly in disdain: this man was supposed to be a doctor? Isabella had done a far better job. She nodded slightly, biting the inside of her lip to stop the whimpers begging to leave her mouth, as moving the bandages had caused the throbbing to start again. The man merely blinked at her, and begun rubbing a cloth over the wound, provoking a stinging sensation in her arm.

"Does it hurt?" Vanessa blinked at him, completely and utterly annoyed with the man's idiocy. Of course it bloody well hurt! She gave him a glare, hoping it would answer his question, but he just sat, waiting and watching her. If this man was classed under the 'best' Monogram had earlier talked about, Vanessa would rather if her love stayed her, instead of being moved to a medical wing with some crappy doctors.

"Of course… it goddamn… hurts…" She hissed under her breath, when it became clear he was just going to wait for her to actually speak and tell him. How could a man so stupid and yet still be hired by a secret agency as a doctor? Was he just having a bad day, or were their standards crazily low? She returned to biting on her lip, deciding that once this was over, she'd interrogate Monogram herself over it all.

"I'm going to have to put you out to remove the bullet then." If she hadn't of been biting her lip, Vanessa was more than certain she would've growled at the man. She was supposed to be getting help here, and yet the man reminded her of all the things she hated in life. When Monogram next came, she was definitely asking for a new doctor.

The man turned to a tray behind him, and picked up the syringe that lay atop. He flicked it a few times, then squeezed it, a few droplets trickling over the top of the needle point. He placed it back atop the tray, and pulled out a breathing mask, connected to machines and canisters, and placed it over Vanessa's head.

"That's to make you unconscious, and this," he paused and picked up the needle, "is to numb the area, so it won't hurt as much when you wake up. Could you lie down?" Vanessa complied, despite not trusting the idiot with the simplest of techniques. She felt the needle prick her skin, and began counting in her head. Slowly, everything started to blur together until everything was one, and it was all black.

* * *

><p>In a flurry of white, the hospital doors swung open, and Francis was almost knocked off his feet as the man jumped at him, one hand on either shoulder, and started to shake him.<p>

"Where's my baby girl? Francis, you gotta tell me where my baby is!" Heinz shouted, his voice quivering with fear and excitement, anxiety and happiness at the same time. Monogram blinked a few times, trying to regain his mind set as the scientist looked at him pleadingly.

"She's… she's unconscious at the moment. Just had a, um, bullet removed from her shoulder." Francis shook his head, still a little fazed by the overly energetic pharmacist-lookalike in front of him. Heinz looked at him, eyes ridden with terror, a massive change from the earlier excitement that danced in them.

"Don't worry, she's fine. Also, did you call me Francis? You did, didn't you? Great googly moogly, no-one's called me that in ages…" He laughed slightly, trying to diffuse Heinz's nerves, the man visibly shaking in front of him. He saw the scientist relax, if only slightly, and the hands gripping his shoulder's loosened.

"Wait, where's that hooligan? You know, the green haired one! Shouldn't he be here? I knew he was just like the others, didn't really care for my baby… There'll never be anyone good enough for my baby…" Heinz sighed. He'd wished this one had been different. But none of Vanessa's boyfriends had ever been good enough for her. He thought Ferb was different. He noticed Monogram frown slightly at his remark, so Heinz narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyebrows creasing. "What?"

"Ferb is here…" Heinz just looked at him with an even more puzzled look. "Ferb has been here since Vanessa arrived. He came in with them…" The way Monogram kept trailing off worried Heinz slightly. Then it clicked. Something was wrong. Very wrong. If the 'hooligan' wasn't with Monogram, and he wasn't with Vanessa, then where was he?

"Francis, where is he?" Heinz felt his chest tighten slightly, and realised he actually cared for the boy a little bit. But only a little boy. It wasn't like he knew Ferb all too well apart from being with him almost non-stop for the past few days.

"Ferb's… Ferb's in the ICU. He was the worst injured. From what I can gather, he attempted a suicidal rescue mission. He didn't plan on surviving it, just getting Phineas and Vanessa out." Heinz felt his eyes widen slightly, and then even more when he remembered their little chat a few days back.

"Crap! I promised him he could marry Vanessa if he got her back!" It was only after the words left his mouth that he realised just how inappropriate his little outburst was. But he continued anyway. "Could you imagine that wedding? Perry the Platypus would be like, the best platypus or something! Do you think Vanessa would rather Norm give her away? Oh god! That'd be a terrible wedding! I'd have to organise it. If not, it'd only end in shambles. Did he get hit on the head? He might not remember my promise. That'd be good!" Monogram simply stared at the delusional, over-excited evil scientist who stood in front of him, rambling on about marriage in the middle of a hospital. Only Heinz Doofenshmirtz…

* * *

><p>Candace hissed impatiently as the 'doctor' poked and prodded her, trying to see if she'd been injured in her little showdown. Only a few bruises and minor cuts. Well, the doctor said cuts, Candace insisted she'd seen bigger scratches. Jeremy sat the other side of the room, just smiling at her, amused by Candace's protests. Jeremy had already been checked over, and after re-assuring the doctor that he was fine, and not in shock, he was allowed to move away again.<p>

"Are you done yet?" She growled, still feeling the after effects of the rush pulsing through her veins, urging her to get up and do something, _anything._The doctor looked at her, then rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Yes, yes. You seem to be fine. We would prefer to keep you in under observation ica-"

"No." Candace said, rather bluntly, cutting the doctor off mid-sentence. She stood up, and walked out the door, Jeremy trailing behind her and smiling apologetically at the stunned man sat at his desk. The moment the door shut, Candace turned to face Jeremy, her expression changing to one of worry.

"Jeremy, what the hell am I meant to do?" Candace watched him pleadingly, begging for help that Jeremy didn't know how to give. So he pulled his fiancé into an embrace, and held her tight against his chest as her body shook, her voice ravaged by sobs.

"F-Ferb's almost dead… It's my fault! If I'd just have been faster, I could've stopped that _man _before he'd even laid a hand on Ferb. I should've let Ferb know that I was here to support him fully… Maybe then he wouldn't have gone… alone… And how the hell am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad? I can't just pretend nothing happened… Ferb's lying unconscious and broken somewhere here! Phineas is acting different, and he's been shot in the shoulder! I think the bullet wounds would give it away, if the fact that one of their sons is lying in ICU doesn't!" She looked up at Jeremy, her eyes sparkling in the dimly lit corridor. Jeremy kissed her and pulled her in slightly closer, holding her and trying to protect her from everything that had happen, and all she still had to face.

* * *

><p>"Can you please just get this over with? I want to see my brother…" Phineas said, in a rather grave tone, to the man who kept looking at the wound on his shoulder. The doctor smiled sympathetically at him, trying to ignore the teal monotreme perched on the bed next to him. He may be a doctor for the OWCA, but the fedora wearing animals still confused him slightly. The idea that they could be taught to do what humans do and better was what puzzled him most: he'd always learnt about animals being rather stupid.<p>

"Of course… Could you lie down?" The doctor pulled the mask from under the bed as the red-haired boy obeyed, and lay down slowly, and the semi-aquatic mammal still stood protectively by his owner. "I'm not going to hurt him Perry. You have to believe me. Trust me." Perry looked over to Phineas, who just nodded at him slightly. Perry relaxed slightly, but didn't move, instead softening his glare at the doctor. The man took it as a good sign, and placed the mask on Phineas.

"Just stay calm, and take deep breaths. It'll all be over soon…" Phineas forced a weak smile, and began to breath slowly at first, allowing the gas into his system. It soon started taking effect, and the last breath Phineas remembered taking was a breath of relief.

**A/N  
>Tune in next time for a daddy-daughter re-union!<strong>


	22. Reunion

Vanessa opened her eyes slowly, wincing slightly as the light flooded in. The light dimmed quite quickly, so she risked opening her eyes a little more, to see a blurred figure standing over her, appearing to be smiling.

"Baby girl!" It shouted and threw its arms around her. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, when she saw white. So much white. And she realised who it was, trying to hug her, acting so strangely.

"Daddy?" The arms just gripped her tighter, pulling her into a sitting position and into the pharmacist-style coat. She felt the person shaking slightly, so she wrapped her good arm around them, and smiled. "I missed you…" She murmured under her breath, just loud enough for the man to hear.

"I missed you too, baby girl…" Heinz mumbled, his voice shaking. He pulled away from the hug and smiled at his daughter. He was indescribably happy at having his baby back, and he had already plotted many a way to exact his revenge on Rodney whilst Vanessa had slept, his idea's ranging from plain and simple cold-blooded murder, to the slightly more immature idea of poisoning some gummy worms, and offering them to Rodney as a 'peace offering'. His favourite, though, had to be to convert some normal eggs into Dodo eggs with his previous inator, and set his army of prehistoric pecking machines onto Rodney. If he could distract them from trying to kill him, and find some way to get rid of that annoying 'Gnark' noise they made.

Vanessa looked over her father's shoulder, as something very familiar to her came walking from the wall, leaving a gap next to the door. With a slight metallic grinding noise, it twisted its head and raised its hand to its mouth in a very human manner. Vanessa couldn't help but laugh at the suited robot.

"Oops…"

"Norm! I'm going to have to pay for that! Typical… Just typical… Robot 'sons' these days, no respect for hospital walls…" Norm's smile light up, literally, and Vanessa started to laugh again. She wondered just how close Norm and her dad had been over the past few days. And just how many muffins Norm had to bake. She knew how her dad always longed for muffins in stressful situations.

"Sorry, dad. I didn't mean to break it… It was just in the way. Would a muffin make it better?" Norm opened his chest, and pulled out a plate of muffins, varying in flavour. His smile lit up, and he somehow managed to look innocently at Heinz.

"You've got an oven built in you? I really need to read your manual, despite the fact that I should know these things as I built you…" Heinz trailed off, staring at the plate of muffins longingly. Vanessa rolled her eyes: it wouldn't be long until everything was back to normal. "Vanessa darling…" Heinz twisted to face his daughter, and smiled at her. "Would you like the first muffin?"

"No thanks. Dad, can you take me to see Ferb? Please?" Vanessa felt a lump forming in her throat again. She swallowed quickly, but it just persisted to grow, and she felt nervous.

"Wouldn't you rather go with the others?" Heinz asked, knowing that no matter who she went with, there was no way he could put Vanessa off for long. He wasn't going to deny he was anxious: he'd seen how far Ferb had gone for her, and he knew it was love between. Nothing else. So he was scared as to how Vanessa would react seeing Ferb in the state Heinz had heard him to be in.

His eyes watched Vanessa carefully as he picked up a muffin off the plate, following her every move as she nodded ever so slightly at his suggestion. He held a hand out and smiled.

"Come on then, baby girl…"

* * *

><p>"Monogram, sir, Francis, whatever you want me to call you, isn't there anyway whatsoever that you can delay them? Tell them they won an extension to the holiday or something! Please! I'll pay for it!" Candace's voice had risen as she pleaded with Monogram, who stood in front of her, looking torn and confused. Jeremy squeezed Candace's hand slightly, trying to reassure her that they'd figure it all out.<p>

"I mean, I could try b-"

"Then do it! Please!" Candace continued to plead with her pet's superior, not caring for any 'if's or 'but's he could present her with. She didn't want to scare her parents, and she was more than certain her brothers would prefer that their parents didn't know about anything that'd happened. It had been a bad enough ordeal as it was, but she knew how her mom and dad tended to fuss and fret over the smallest things. She wasn't sure if they'd cope with finding out that while they'd been away, one son had been kidnapped, and the other almost killed. She wasn't sure any parent would cope with finding out news like that.

"I'll give it a try. I should be able to get OWCA to cover the costs, seeing as we are involved with this, and it is of utmost importance that we try to protect our secret, and consequently any linked with the OWCA…" Candace felt herself relax, and calm, not completely, but still to some extent, and she smiled at Monogram.

"Thank you…" She twisted her body around and began to run back down the corridor, pulling Jeremy along behind her, when they bumped into a rather peculiar robot, trying to put a wall back together.

"I am sorry. Dad and Vanessa have gone to try and find you all." Candace looked at Jeremy, then at the robot that had spoken to them, and back to Jeremy. He just smiled at her, looking rather confused himself, and decided this time, he'd be the one to pull Candace along. They ran along the corridor, weaving in and out of the oncoming doctors and patients, like a game. Candace lost herself in the moment and began to laugh: a sound she had not heard herself make since the whole thing had started. Jeremy laughed with her, and few just a few moments, Candace felt all the responsibility, all the pressure and all the worries roll away, and she was simply Candace.

* * *

><p>"I am starting to get very worried. We have not heard from them for a whole day, and now Francis has gone too." Ginger tried to comfort Baljeet, and wrapped her arms around him, but she herself was worried. The whole main body of the team had just disappeared into thin air, apparently, and no-one had contacted them in just over a day.<p>

"I think you're just worrying too much, nerd. They'll be fine. I mean, a secret agent, a hormonal sister, a devoted fiancé, and a love-sick teenager. What could go wrong?" Baljeet just groaned as his best frenemy summed up the situation, making it seem more hopeless than before.

"Don't worry Baljeet, they're smart enough to know what they're doing. Love is a driving force: it can make miracles seem like everyday occurrences. Just have a little faith in your friends." Ginger smiled at him, and hugged him tighter, but Baljeet just stayed as stiff as a plank of wood, refusing to relax.

"But I have done the math! The math is not good! And math never lies!" Buford simply rolled his eyes. Only Baljeet would ramble on about such geeky things at a time like this. But he didn't say anything: as much as Buford took the mick out of Baljeet for his academic achievements, he respected the Indian teenager, even looked up to him at times, and he knew that academics was Baljeet's way of calming himself in situations such as the one he was in right now.

"Maybe you did the math… wrong?" Buford said hopefully, offering up the only explanation he had to try and comfort his friend. He knew it probably wouldn't help, but it was all he had, and it was worth a shot. It couldn't make things much worse.

"No, no… I have checked it over… I have even factored in multiple different situations, from being ambushed by ninjas, gunmen, and even a rampaging army of prehistoric dodos! I will check it again if you want, but I know it is right!" Ginger began to worry: she hoped something would come along soon before Baljeet lost it completely.

"Dodos? Seriously?" Buford couldn't help but make the remark. He knew Baljeet would just retaliate with some sort of explanation, which he would then accept without question to allow his friend to calm down, and feel comforted by his intellectual superiority. But he just felt it necessary to point out how absurd it sounded.

"It is possible! With the right technology, and a brain adequate enough to function the technology, it is very possible!" Baljeet voice rose, his worry clearly feeding through. No-one dared speak afterwards: Ginger decided to just hold his hand. She didn't want to make him feel claustrophobic from hugging, but she didn't want him to feel alone. Alone was the worst thing her boyfriend could ever feel at this point in time. He needed her, and he needed Buford, and he needed his missing friends.

The door swung open, Adyson standing in the doorway, looking rather exicited. All eyes moved across to focus on her, waiting for the Fireside Girl to say whatever it was she'd come to tell them. She continued to smile excitedly for a few moments, before opening her mouth.

"Isabella's called in. They've found _them_! They're at the hospital!"

* * *

><p>Phineas sat bolt upright in his bed, ignoring the aching pain in his shoulder, confused and scared. He couldn't remember where he was, nor could he figure it out, in the daze his mind was in. He felt something resting in his hand, and he looked down. Another hand. He followed the arm up to the body it connected, then up to the face. The most beautiful face he'd ever seen in his life.<p>

"I'm here… You're safe now…" Isabella's voice calmed him, and he smiled at her, then pulled her into a tight hug. She quickly returned the hug, smiling widely, a small blush rising up in her cheeks, colouring them a light red. Phineas noticed when he pulled away, and smirked slightly.

"I'm sorry about, you know, um, kissin-"

"I love you Isabella. That wasn't just impulse. I genuinely do love you, and I meant every second of that kiss, and I mean every second of this one too…" He leant forward and their lips met, third time for Isabella, second time for Phineas. She returned the brief kiss, and her cheeks reddened by several shades. Phineas laughed, ignoring the fact that his cheeks were burning too, and smiled cheesily at Isabella, raising one of his eyebrows cheekily.

"We're not interrupting anything are we?" Candace called from the doorway, chuckling as Jeremy held her tight. "Right pair of lovebirds. Reminds me of you and me, Jeremy, except for the fact that I discovered my love for you in a much… safer way." Phineas rolled his eyes and Isabella giggled slightly, at both Candace's statement and Phineas' reaction.

"Care to accompany us?" A new voice called from the doorway, and Vanessa stepped out from behind Candace and Jeremy, her dad standing slightly behind her.

"Where to?" He asked, though Phineas was almost certain he knew where she meant. He felt his stomach twist slightly, and saw that behind Vanessa's cheery front, she was terrified, and torn, and still the broken girl she was when she'd watched Ferb being shot.

"To see… Ferb…" Her voice quietened ever so slightly, and Phineas simply nodded, knowing that it was no time to pretend he was happy.

* * *

><p>Perry rubbed his eyes and stretched slightly from his curled up position. He dared not look beside him: what he saw scared him. Someone he loved so hurt and broken caused Perry to ache endlessly inside, and despite the fact that he knew Ferb wouldn't know if he stayed with him or not, Perry couldn't bring himself to leave the boy. Not in this state. Not after what he'd done, throwing himself into the jaws of Death to try and help others.<p>

His eyes flickered over the tubes and machines, and all the bandages, each with a tiny point of red staining the centre of them. The boy beside him looked so pale, so small, so insignificant in that bed. Completely not himself.


	23. Shock

**A/N  
>Super sorry about not replying to reviews last time, I was lucky to even get the chapter up then. Also, I'm really sorry about slow updates, blame all my exams. Anyways, reviews.<strong>

**Chapter 21 reviews:**

**writer-person2: Thank you**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Hopefully, yus! Sorry about update delays**

**Sierra-275: Just to clarify, Heinz wasn't betting his own daughter, he'd said to Ferb that if Ferb could get Vanessa back, he would give his blessings if Ferb proposed, and wouldn't object, because Ferb had proved himself worthy in Heinz's eyes. It's quite the opposite actually, he'd essentially said he'd only give his blessings if Ferb got her back. Sorry about the confusion.**

**Wii Guy: Aw, I did enjoy it, I loved your take on Candace. And really? Oh my gosh, that sounds absolutely amazing! I wish I lived in America! Yeah, I could totally see Doof reacting like that. It's his way to cope with stressful situations: try to pick out the absurd points. And I shall dear.**

**WordNerb93: Not completely, but you already know that now haha. And yup! For now… And yes, I couldn't have the story completely serious, because although it's about them grown up, Phineas and Ferb is an adorable funny kids cartoon, you know? I had to keep the element of funny. And you shall, don't worry dear, and thank you!**

**Chapter 22 reviews:**

**PFTones3482: Thank you, and yus! Finally!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: I seem to enjoy writing sad things, I think there is something wrong with me…**

**WordNerb93: Yeah, almost, but since when have fanfictions writers let things be perfect? We are evil like that aha.**

**Wii Guy: I guess that time will tell for your question, my dear. Make sure your fedora doesn't fly off.**

**Sierra-275: I do apologise, with exams, I had to rush just to get the last chapter up. I am sorry though for that, and I promise to try not to leave reviews out in future.**

"Before you go in there, please prepare yourselves. He looks worse than he is, but please still be careful." The doctor was all that stood between them and their unconscious friend, and he side-stepped out of the way after glancing over the group of friends and family stood in front of him with concerned eyes. He saw the worry etched into their faces, the anticipation, and he knew they were a close-knit group. They cared for one another, and they'd do anything for one another. Which just made him wonder even more what had happened. But they all refused to talk: at least the ones questioned had. The moment anyone had started to approach to the red-haired boy, the taller girl had stepped in the way and stopped it. And whenever someone approached the brunette girl, they'd had a ray gun pointed at them, and a muffin thrown at the back of their head.

Candace looked at Phineas and Vanessa, stood either side of her, and took a deep breath before she pushed the door open slowly. The slow, repetitive beeps greeted her, alongside a sight which sickened her. She instinctively raised her hand over her mouth as it fell open, eyes widening as her stomach churned.

Perry was curled up on the chair next to the pale, almost unrecognisable boy who lay in the hospital bed. He was bruised and wrapped in ghastly white bandages, surrounded by machines, frighteningly important looking machines, each showing a different display, numbers and units, incomprehensible.

Candace twisted and fell into Jeremy's chest, breathing heavily yet unable to cry, shocked by her brother, lying alive in death, still yet still breathing, but only with help. She felt his hands running up and down her back, trying to soothe her and calm her, but she felt the minute tremors running through his body, and she knew Jeremy was scared too.

Phineas gulped as he looked on, and he tried to force a faux smile, tried to cheer up the people around him. But he knew that if he couldn't smile himself, the cheery one, then how could anyone else? He let his legs carry him into the room, and he didn't try to fight them or control them. He merely walked them and stopped by his brother's bedside, not noticing Isabella, who had trailed behind him slowly, giving him space, but saddened herself.

Isabella began to realise how Candace felt: how she could've prevented _this _if they'd been quicker. Or at least of helped. But now, her best friend lay broken and bandaged in front of her, unconscious and barely alive. His chest barely rose with each breath, and seemed to sink lower and lower with each exhalation.

Vanessa stood in the doorway, her eyes squeezed shut. She refused to look if Candace has reacted like that. She couldn't bear to see him, her love, her everything, ravaged by wounds and like a ghost, as if death had marked him, ready to claim. It was something she couldn't see, and she wouldn't see. It already hurt enough. Her heart had already been torn up enough, and soon glue and tape wouldn't be enough to hold it together. Soon, it would just be broken, and that would be that. Not even Ferb would be able to put it back together again.

"It's okay baby girl, I'm here for you. I know how it hurts, _trust me_, I do, and I know it scares you, but you just gotta open your eyes. Open your eyes baby girl, he needs you, and you need him. What you've got, it's love, and I learnt the hard way you don't just let it go. You hold it, and you hang on to it with everything you got. So open your eyes, baby girl, open your eyes…" Heinz murmured in his daughter's ear, his hand resting on her good shoulder, rubbing slightly to try a calm her, reassure her that she had someone there to help her through it all. He felt a shiver run up his spine, and the tears he'd held back all those. He still loved Charlene, she just didn't love him. Not anymore…

Vanessa took a deep breath, sucking the breath in between her lips, and opened her eyes ever so slowly, until she felt herself wide-eyed from shock. She gasped, and felt a lone tear roll down her face as she looked ahead. Crying had become too common a reaction from Vanessa's pleasure over the last few days, but when she saw him, _her _Ferb, lying there, looking like he was either dead or not far from it, she couldn't help it when she began to cry again. She felt her dad wrap his arms around her, and hold her tight, hugging her, trying to make her feel better.

"What did he do to deserve this, Dad? What?" Her voice faded on the last word, quietening. Heinz shook his head. He did nothing. He was a boy, a talented boy in love. And now, everyone around him hurt. Just as Rodney wanted. By striking one brother, he took down the other, and consequently Heinz through his daughter. Essentially, Rodney had won. For now anyway, whilst the boy lay unconscious. The bad guy had won for once.

"Nothing, baby girl. He did nothing…"

* * *

><p>"Buford, did you really have to stop for a taco? These are our friends!" Baljeet shouted as they got the car, his friend still chewing on the taco he'd been so insistent on getting. Despite having grown older, Baljeet's voice was still a fair bit higher than the average boy's voice.<p>

"Course of I did, nerd. You know how Buford loves his food." Ginger rolled her eyes and sighed. Baljeet frowned in confusion as the bully decided to refer to himself in third person again: a habit Baljeet had been noticing quite a lot recently. He decided against questioning it though.

"Just, hurry up, guys. I want to get there before the girls do." Baljeet quickened up his pace in response, ignoring Buford's overly dramatic groans. But Buford's moaning persisted as they walked towards the hospital, and Baljeet decided that if he was ever going to stand up to his bully, it was now.

"Just, shut up Buford! For once in your life, show a little compassion! That is our friends in there! All we know is that they found Phineas and Vanessa! For all we know, someone is injured! Someone is dying, and all you can talk about is your bloody taco! Damn it Buford, for once in your life, don't be such a… bully!" Baljeet stopped suddenly, and his stood still, stunned. Buford and Ginger just looked at him, wide-eyed. "Sorry," he mumbled under his breath, and began walking again, the other two merely walking behind him, stunned by Baljeet's outburst. Buford jogged up beside him, chucking the rest of his taco to the floor.

"Hey, hey... I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm the one who's been acting like a jerk, all my life, and you don't deserve that. I'm sorry, ner- mate," Baljeet looked at Buford, and couldn't help but smile at him. He was still angry, but he was happy, ever so happy that he'd been able to get through to Buford, and there was more than just a bully in him. Then Buford decided to shock the Indian teenager further. He hugged him.

"Buford!" Baljeet protested weakly, "You're crushing me!" Ginger watched on, laughing at them, much to her boyfriend's annoyance. The bully loosened his grip slightly, and Baljeet returned the hug. "Thank you, mate…" The last word was strained, a word Baljeet rarely ever used, and after hearing how it sounded in his voice, and feeling it on his tongue, he decided he wouldn't be using it again. There were far more alternatives in the Thesaurus.

"You have your little cuddle now, guys. Let's go!" Ginger ran ahead, pushing her way through the hospital doors. Buford released his grip on his friend, and pushed the other teenager back a bit, before racing towards the door and declaring in an incredibly childish manner:

"Last one to the desk is a wuss!" Baljeet realised that though he wouldn't be able to beat Buford, if he didn't try, his frenemy would just give him more grief. So he ran. Not something he was used to, if he was honest: Baljeet was an academic person, he'd never excelled at physical sport, nor enjoyed it. Only enjoyed working out the speed at which he was falling, which was frequent when he was doing sport, and the force of Buford when he was getting a wedgie

When he finally got to the desk, Ginger stood there, arms crossed, trying to act annoyed but she couldn't help the smirk that graced her lips. Baljeet grinned back through his pants, dying for a proper breath. Buford stood next to Ginger, smiling victoriously, but he joined in laughing when Baljeet started.

"Okay, you two keep acting like kids, I'll find out what's going on." Ginger twisted around to the desk behind her, and smiled at the nurse. "Hi there," she asked as cheerily as she could, "You wouldn't be able to tell us where Phineas or Vanessa are, would you?" The nurse tapped onto the computer, than looked back towards Ginger, smiling sympathetically.

"Sorry, dear, no-one here under that name." Ginger frowned at her, confused. Candace has called in to say it was this hospital. It was definitely the right hospital, and she had definitely said they had found them. Then Ginger smiled to herself. Candace was bound to have made herself known around the hospital already.

"Mind telling me where I could find Candace Flynn? Quite loud, probably going to be with a blond boy, has ginger hair. I'm more than sure you've seen her." The nurse laughed and smiled at Ginger, and the Fireside girl was more than certain the nurse knew exactly who she was on about.

"I certainly could! Who doesn't know Candace around here? Certainly loud. Yeah, you'll probably find her in the ICU at the moment. Just follow the signs, you won't miss them, they're a massive group down there. Refuse to give names though, orders from higher up prevent us from taking them anyway. Well, all apart from Candace. Such a lovely girl…" The nurse trailed off, and Ginger couldn't help but feel slightly worried at the fact that they were now headed for the ICU. She thanked the nurse quickly, and dragged the two boys accompanying down the corridor.

"Where we off to then. Buford's fed up of being left out the loop." His switch to third person just confused Baljeet again, and irritated him to some extent, not knowing why he did it, whether it was just for fun, or some deep psychological reason.

"ICU." She said rather bluntly. Baljeet looked at her, shocked, and saw how she carried herself stiffly. He glanced across at Buford, who simply nodded at him, clearly thinking along the same lines, and they both began to run. Ginger noticed what they were doing, and chased after them, shouting out which way when she saw the signs, and weaving in and out of oncoming doctors and patients. They kept running until they came to the double doors all the signs pointed towards.

"Look, I don't give a damn if it's against hospital regulations for so many visitors. You're not moving us!" Baljeet couldn't help but crack the smallest of grins to Buford and Ginger when they heard Candace shouting from the other side of the doors. Ginger was beginning to understand just how well known Candace had made herself.

"I think we've found them guys. I'm just, you know, scared. I mean, it's the ICU. That can't be good…" Buford nodded in agreement, and Baljeet began to fidget nervously. Ginger was right. It couldn't be good. They just didn't know who was badly hurt.

Ginger pushed the doors open, Baljeet and Buford situated beside the Fireside girl. The first thing they saw was Candace leaning over the desk, practically growling at the nurse behind it, with Jeremy stood behind her, smiling apologetically at the traumatised woman, but not daring to disturb Candace. Then they caught a familiar tuft of red hair sticking out from just behind the couple.

"Phineas!" Baljeet shouted out, and ran towards the boy. Buford chased after the boy, but quickly reverted to a cool, slow walk when the red-headed boy spotted them. Baljeet threw himself at Phineas, hugging him tightly. Buford noticed the slight wince as Baljeet embraced the boy, and realised it'd actually be better for Phineas if he kept up his current exterior.

"So, whose face do I need to pummel, Dinner Bell? You good? Buford likes to pummel, especially faces." He added a slight grin on the end, to try and lighten his words, but deep down, the bully felt the same was as Baljeet. He did, however, have a reputation to hold up, unlike the nerd.

"Hi, guys. Um, Baljeet, you're kinda crushing me. And, um, Candace might have taken care of all the beating up and fighting. She's actually quite scary with a Bo staff. Remind me never to anger her." The red-haired boy try to wriggle his way out of Baljeet's unusually strong grasp, but to no avail, until Buford pried Baljeet off of Phineas. Phineas smiled thankfully at him, and Buford nodded slightly, acknowledging the thanks.

"I am so happy you are okay Phineas! My nerves were on edge for you, I was ever so worried!" Baljeet sounded far more dramatic than usual, and yet Buford could tell he wasn't doing it deliberately. The kid really was still agitated. Buford noticed how Isabella was walking towards them, and waved slightly at her. Baljeet began to jump up and down, and Buford wondered what had gotten into his nerd. Isabella smiled at them and took her place beside Phineas, something definitely different. And then Buford saw the look in their eyes. The same look he saw in Baljeet's and Ginger's eyes. He chuckled slightly, and Isabella obviously understanding, blushed slightly. Baljeet continued flailing, completely unaware.

"Let me get this straight, Dinner Bell. You ain't the one we're down here for, right?" He watched Phineas as he nodded slowly, looking down toward the floor. "Then who is it?" He noticed how Phineas visibly paled, and Buford began to worry. Bullies don't worry. But he was worried. Was it really that bad? Baljeet had stopped his excited outburst and had settled into a calmer, but still happy state at seeing his friend.

"Guys," Isabella started, attracting everyone's attention, including Ginger's, who'd just joined the group, stood by her boyfriend. "It's Ferb."


	24. Reaction

**A/N  
>So this one is a short chapter, terribly sorry for that, but if I extended it, well, you'd have cliffhangers, and I'm pretty sure you're all sick of cliffhangers by now. Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I think there's a chance I may actually hit the 200 milestone, so, thank you, and please keep reviewing!<strong>

**writer-person2: I do feel sorry for Vanessa. She's had it hard in this fanfic.**

**Sierra-275: Yeah, evil exams. I've still got a few coming up, but not as many, so the revision schedule isn't as intense any more. And I do apologise for the cliffhanger, I just couldn't think of any other way to finish it off. I really wanted to write Baljeet and Buford's reactions in that chapter, but it would've gone on for far too long then.**

**Wii Guy: It does have its good times. Like being the home country to Tom Hiddleston. Heh. Yeah, I wanted to put it there, as it's not just Baljeet telling him to stop being insensitive, but also a release for every time he's been annoyed or angry with Buford over the years, but has just been too scared to say anything. And with Candace taking charge, it just seemed right for her to be the one to complain when things aren't right. And I try my best to keep it up. It's getting harder now though, aha!**

**WordNerb93: Go Heinz all the way! And he shall, but for him to actually exact revenge? Well, I promise you it shall come, but not in this story**

**PFTones3482: Yes, he really does, doesn't he? Aha.**

**Brainless Genius: Aww, thank you, that means a lot! And I shall do, but that won't be for a long time, as I'm not sure whether you saw the mentions to a sequel dotted about. And Rodney dislikes Ferb because of jealousy. The brothers had, in my world, started to enter competitions with their inventions to be able to fund their larger projects, and each time Rodney was beaten by them, he grew to resent them more and more. Teamed with his mass hatred towards Heinz and OWCA, it slowly pushed him over the edge. Now, with Rodney as a mental maniac, he decided that the best way to get at them both, was to get at one through the other. He ultimately concluded that Ferb was emotionally stronger, so he'd enjoy it more to try and break Ferb. Yeah, Rodney's a little twisted in my world, sorry about that.**

"Wait, what? Ferb? How?" Buford's deep voice was stained with confusion, as he questioned what he'd just heard on behalf of the silent, gobsmacked nerd beside him. Baljeet stood dead still, watching Isabella intensely. Then, for the first time in his life, he didn't think, he simply acted upon impulse and ran to his friend's room.

"Baljeet? Wait up!" Buford chased after him, and Ginger stood still, shocked by her boyfriend's behaviour and the recent revelation. Buford ran faster until he reached the doorway, stopping to watch his boyfriend, stood at the end of the hospital bed. He couldn't see past Baljeet, but he could see Vanessa and Heinz in there. Part of him didn't want Baljeet to move: he wasn't supposed to show emotion, he was a bully, but that was one of his closest friends lying on that bed. Someone he'd shared his childhood with and someone who'd accepted him for who he was, and didn't care that on the surface, he was a rough, mean person. Buford sighed. He didn't understand who could even do this. He though himself mean and cruel, but kidnapping and seriously injuring, with intent of killing? Buford was sickened, to say the least.

Baljeet looked on, utterly speechless. 'Man of Action' is what people had always referred to Ferb as, yet it was actions that brought him here. To this damned place. By a damned hand. Baljeet felt something tickle his cheek, and he lifted his hand up, rubbing at it, smudging the trail of a tear. He blinked a few times, and looked downwards, wishing he could've been there to help. Sure, Baljeet knew he wouldn't be of much help, but then he could've helped to some extent. He could've stopped some of this, even just a tiny little bit of this. "Please pull through, Ferb…" he whispered, and walked out the door. Buford watched Baljeet, never stopping or responding to the questioning glances and low calls of his name. He decided to let his nerd be. He needed time to get to grips with everything. Buford understood Baljeet better than most did, and he knew that right now, he just needed to be alone.

The bully realised it was his turn, and he slowly looked towards Ferb. He was met with bandages and machines, and a pale, broken looking boy who didn't deserve to be there. Because at the end of the day, Ferb wasn't much more than a boy. He was only 16.

"Hey, buddy…" He said, watching the still British teenager, laying on the hospital bed. "I know you can't hear me, but if I ever get my hands on who did this, well, I'll smash him up. I'll smash his face him, and make him pay for what he did." Vanessa looked over to Buford, and smiled weakly at him. He was only expressing his emotions in a Buford way.

* * *

><p>"Carl has sorted out the whole shenanigan out with your parents." Candace rolled her eyes. There was no way she'd ever be able to take Monogram seriously, what with the monobrow and the excessively long words.<p>

"Really… Shenanigan. Can you not think of any other words?" Monogram frowned, confused by what was wrong with his vocabulary. Candace caught the look and smirked. "Shenanigans. Great googly moogly. Do you really not have anything better to say?" She paused for a second, watching his face remain in a state of utter confusion. "Anyway, how much?"

"Nothing. I managed to make a… deal with some of the higher ups in OWCA, and they'll be covering the cost. Seeing as we are involved, we have to deal with it. Apparently." Candace smiled at him, the closest to a genuine smile she'd had in days. Knowing one less responsibility rested on her shoulders made her feel better, and even though it was only a slight bit, it was better.

"Thank you… Um, you haven't seen Perry have you? He's disappeared, and, well, it's strange…" Candace looked at him with big eyes, and Monogram noticed the similar looks he was getting from Jeremy, stood just behind her, in a position he seemed to always adopt when around Candace. Monogram decided that in the relationship, Candace was in control.

"Perry felt he was of no use here. So he's gone out into the field to see if he can get information, or anything, to do with the recent events." Candace nodded slowly: she'd expected as much. If she was completely honest, she felt the same way as the monotreme, but unlike Perry, she wasn't obliged to work for an agency, and she wasn't exactly trained for field work. Only trained in the case of confrontation, which by all means, had been incredibly handy to her when she was faced off with Rodney.

"Thank you, again." She turned, and Jeremy smiled at Francis, before mimicking her actions. They headed back towards the room that their lives had been based around for almost two days.

**A/N  
>Thanks for reading, and please review! You'll help me hit my 200 review goal!<strong>


	25. Awake

**A/N**

**So, I would say thi I the chapter most of you have been waiting for. Not much more left now, until the epilogue (I think that's what it is, anyway), so yeah :) A big thank you to everyone ho reviewed and has ultimatly helped me toward the 200 goal, we're at 172! Onto the reviews!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Thank you for that, and I think this shall be a nice chapter for you then!**

**Brainless Genius: I must say, I am also a culprit of using words like shenanigans, I just thought it completely appropriate for Monogram aha. And thank you! That means a lot to me!**

**Sierra-275: Aww thank you! Thats lovely! And I think this chapter shall be suited to you then: situation change and no cliffhanger :)**

**writer-person2: Thank you!**

**Wii Guy: I completely agree with you there. I think that for a platypus and a human, they're actually very similar in the way they look at things and how they would resolve them, and that despite her onscreen protests, she actually likes Perry more than what she shows people. And I'll have a read when I can! Sorry about not reviewing, I've beenlawful busy lately!**

**WordNerb93: Yeah, I more than certin though that some of my readers are getting sick of my thing for cliffhangers, haha!**

**MrPenguin711: Thank you ever so much! That truly means a lot to me! After this chapter, we shall actually have th characters reflecting upon the conundrum they were in, an how it has affected them emotionally. Thank you ever so much again!**

Phineas felt the days push their way through, each seeming slower than the last. Yet every day, the doctors came and said they were closer to being able to lift Ferb out of the medically induced coma, and the idea of seeing his brother awaken again kept him by Ferb's side day in, day out. Candace had won her battle with the nurses over the amount of visitors Ferb was allowed, with the help of some paperwork from Francis. Perry hadn't gotten any closer to finding out if this was just an envy fuelled attack, or part of something bigger. Vanessa, like Phineas, hadn't left the hospital in days. Heinz was reluctant to leave her after having her took from him once, so Vanessa had Lacey bring clothes in to change into. Baljeet and Buford came and went, due to the nurses being adamant that if too many were around at once, it could scare the other patients in the ICU. Jeremy had stuck to Candace like glue for the duration of the event, offering support whenever she was at breaking point, knowing it was he could do for now. Isabella had done likewise with Phineas, after she'd welcomed the Fireside girls and Pinky in.

Now the doctors stood before them, armed with clipboards, and they knew it was now. They knew it was finally time, for Ferb to realise he hadn't died, as he'd expected, if he hadn't already figured it out in his medically induced coma. It was finally time to thank him for what he did, and lecture him for the stupidity of his suicidal endeavour, and that he should've told them. It was finally time to bring him back to reality.

They followed the cluster of doctors, slowly, the feeling of excitement so surreal and numbing. There was no chatter, no noise whatsoever, except the sound of footsteps in the short corridor. In front of them sat the door to Ferb's room, mockingly acting as a temporary barrier between them and him. They were pushed open, almost willingly opening, and they walked in, some standing towards the back in the doorway.

"Now, bear in mind that this won't act immediately. We're going to cut off the supply of the drug holding him in this comatose state. Just remember, this could take hours to wear off, and even then, it may be just the smallest of movements." In reply, the doctor merely got stares, not of anger, or fear, but simple stares. He nodded towards the other doctors, who replaced on of the liquids feeding in to his system with another, clearer fluid. One of them began to scrawl something down on his clipboard, in a rather rushed manner.

"You can stay in here if you want, but like I said, it may take a while, and you don't want to overwhelm him. The moment he shows signs of regaining consciousness, tell us." The doctor who had continually spoke led the way out of the silent room, until all that remained was the cluster of friends. Buford looked around, and cleared his throat.

"Buford reckons that it should be just family here when he wakes. And Vanessa. Like the doc said, we don't wanna overwhelm him." Baljeet raised an eyebrow with Buford's unusual act of maturity, but didn't question it or quarrel it. They all came to a silent agreement that that was how it would happen, and the others left the room, to occupy themselves otherwise until their turn came.

* * *

><p><em>Soft. Quite soft.<em>

_Warm._

_Quiet._

_Pain._

* * *

><p>Phineas began to hum under his breath after half an hour had passed. It was their song he hummed, the song that brought back so many memories. Practically everyone had heard the song at some point: it hit number 1 almost immediately after they'd declared their desire for the day to be one hit wonders. The song in question, of course, was Gitchee Gitchee Goo. It comforted him slightly, bringing back memories, reassuring him that in a few hours' time, he'd see Ferb open his eyes again. He'd be able to thank him for the crazed stunt he pulled off. He'd be able to hug him, and no matter how weak it was, be hugged back.<p>

Candace felt the tension building inside her again. She wasn't meant to be worried or scared now: it was good thing; they saw him fit enough to lift him out of the coma. But she still felt the anticipation and fear building up inside her, and she knew once she saw him move again, the onslaught of tears would be unstoppable. The lecture could wait till later.

Vanessa twiddled her fingers nervously, desperately wishing to see the eyes she loved again, to hear the voice of _her _British gentleman again, to see his perfect smile cross his face. Vanessa just wanted to hold his hand, and for him to hold back. She just wanted her love back, more than anything in the entire world.

The three sat in silence, the minutes dragging by as if they were men, soldiers, crossing a mine field. And they felt like the soldiers, the occasional tear falling as one stepped of an explosive memory, and dangerous thought, a killer emotion. The door began to creak open again, but no-one even twitched. They were too absorbed in their own thoughts to notice the semi-aquatic agent making his way into the room.

Perry had come back as fast as he could when he heard they'd be rousing him from his coma. The platypus had visited during the nights, whilst everyone slept, as to not disturb anyone, or cause any unwanted questions directed at him. He was rather annoyed at not gaining any information, but his search could wait for now.

* * *

><p><em>Lots of black. Everywhere. But it's letting up.<em>

_The pain. Not as bad as before. Good?_

_Definitely warm, and soft…_

_Must be dead…_

* * *

><p>An hour had passed, before the first sign of life came. A mere twitch in the fingers, followed quickly by moving feet. The four conscious within the room almost jumped at the first movements,despite them bein just small twitches. The tension in the room had built incredibly high, yet no-one had dared break the silence that encompassed it. Only the sound of breathing could be heard, as Phineas' low humming had died down, after he decided it was far out of place within such a silent room.<p>

Ferb's movements didn't exceed small twitches, though, and the slight movements persisted for several minutes before Candace stood up. She walked out the room, with intentions of alerting the doctors of his movements. She didn't want to miss him actually awakening, but she also knew that was still a while away, so she left in confidence that she would retun in time.

Phineas, Vanessa and Perry sat in silence, all building in excitement with each twitch and action Ferb made. The tension still persisted, building with their refusal to speak, to remark how excited were. Most likely due to the fact that words could not sum up how excited they were.

* * *

><p><em>Where am I? Isnt the afterlife brighter than this?<em>

_Are those voices? I can hear voices in my head, familiar voices... Wait! They aren't dead, are they? No, no... Those are memories I hear._

_It hurts, but I can move. I can feel my fingers, and my toes, and I can feel that sensation, the warm one, running through my body. If I am dead, this certainly wasn't expected._

_Wait, I can feel my face. Still sore, and aching. But I can definitely feel it. I think I can move it..._

* * *

><p>Vanessa felt a jab in her side, and looked over to see Perry, pointing toward the British boy. It'd been just under half an hour since the twitches had started, and Vanessa had let her gaze drop, reflecting how that sudden spike in excitement had behaved. Now Perry was behaving ether excitedly, so Vanessa looked up, to see her beloved smiling. His eyes were still shut, but he was smiling, the corners of his mouth moving about ever so slightly.<p>

"Guys," she whispered, hoping it was just loud enough to catch their attention. Her hopes wee confirmed as Candace and Phineas turned to look at her. "Look. He's smiling!" Her tone rose toward the end of the sentence, and she felt her stomach knotting itself again. Phineas and Candace looked up, to catch the uncommon smile Ferb only flashed when he truly was happy, and they realised it wouldn't be long now. They just didn't realise how short that long was now.

They all began to smile themselves, only small, nervous smiles, when his eyes opened, pupils glancing around erratically, until they settled upon the small group, possessing a rather worried look. Ferb sat up bolt right in the hospital bed, his expression mirroring that of he other occupants: shock.

* * *

><p><em>I'm dead, aren't I? I couldn't have survived, too many injuries. But then why are they here? Oh god, they aren't dead to are they? That god damn jerk, Rodney. If I ever see him again, god help me I will kill him. Oh, wait. Dead, right. Can't kill a dead man.<em>

_This place looks familiar though... Why does it look familiar? As far as I can remember, I haven't been dead before... An why do they all look as shocked as me? Everything keeps blurring together, I can't think properly. That beeping isn't helping either!_

_Wait, that's a heart monitor..._

_I'm not dead?_

* * *

><p>"Ferb? Ferb! Look at me! Can you hear me?" Candace decided to try and talk to him, since the others just sat wide eyed. Sure, she was shocked, but she was happier, happier than ever. The pale, green haired boy twisted his head slowly, wincing, until he faced her, and nodded slowly. Candace noticed that most of the bruising had gone down, but his face was still slightly discoloured where he'd been hit by it. Candace refused to address that thing as a person, for no person could do what he did.<p>

"You're in a hospital, do you remember what happened?" She watched as his eyes narrowed whilst he thought, clearly having trouble before looking at her again.

"Yes..." was the faint reply that escaped his lips. Vanessa decide she couldn't hold back anymore, an kissed him, letting out all her built up emotions through a single kiss. Perry jumped up on the bed beside Ferb, and clung onto the teenager once Vanessa had released her grip. Phinmimicked led the platypus, careful not to squeeze his brother too hard, or go anyway near any injuries, which was proving difficult, but Ferb didn't seem to mind. Phineas was just ecstatic to be able to hold his brother gain, to know he was alive and well. "I missed you, bro. I really did..." Ferb just smiled weakly in response, already feeling exhausted despite having not done much.

"Welcome back. You're a right fighter, you know. I'm so glad you pulled through." Candace smiled and tried to hold it together as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes, but her efforts were futile. She was proud though, that she'd held them back the longest in the room. She gently pulled her brother into an embrace, and murmured, "Later though, we're having a talk about going on suicidal rescue missions, okay?" Ferb couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his throat, and it hurt, but he didn't bother fight it. Too tiring.

* * *

><p><em>So, I'm not dead then. That nice.<em>


	26. Smile

**A/N  
>From here on in, the chapters shall be happier, and hopefully, funnier, to try and combat all the previous seriousness. And 182 reviews! I think we can hit 200, guys! Thank you all so much!<strong>

**-inator: I know! I've been building up to that moment for so long, and I couldn't have it all serious aha!**

**Radar180: Thank you, that really means a lot to me, to be able to invoke such an emotional response with my writing**

**WordNerb93: Aha! Thank you!**

**MrPenguin711: Well, I am psychic! And, yeah, I could definitely take those ideas into consideration in the sequel, as I'm going to focus them two as two of the main characters next time, so it could work brilliantly. And I feel honoured for bringing you back, none the less. And thank you again, you're very sweet.**

**NattyMc: Nope, certainly not dead aha!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Thank you very much!**

**Sierra-275: Aha, thank you very much, and thank you again for review 180!**

**Brainless Genius: Yeah, I could totally see that as his response, putting others before himself. And trust me, if you stick around for the epilogue, you will kill me for the cliffhanger aha. You will grow to hate them!**

**Wii Guy: Yeah, I could picture Candace taking control of the situation when no-one else knew what to say, and acting like the caring sister she's proved herself to be time and time again. Well, everyone settles down, happy for about two chapters, then we throw them back in the deep end again, like an evil author.**

The green haired boy, paling by the minute, slowly lowered himself back into a lying position with the aid of his sister, and let his eyes shut. He didn't want to leave them; he never wanted to leave them again, but apparently, after being roused from a medically induced coma due to a large number of threatening injuries, it was normal for one to be so exhausted. At least, that's what Ferb heard the doctor say before the darkness claimed him again. But this time, he knew he'd wake up, surrounded by family and friends. Last time, he wasn't so sure he'd see the light of day again, but it was a sacrifice he'd been willing to make. Clearly it was one that everyone had viewed as crazy, but he cared not for what they thought, for at the end of the day, they weren't in his mind set, they weren't in his position, and they certainly weren't him.

Phineas watched his brother drift again once more, and though he felt a small tug of sadness within him, it was overwhelmed by the joy of seeing him open his eyes again, and seeing him definitely alive. Of course Phineas understood he was alive before, but there was always a _what if? _quality that hung in the air around him. He instinctually raised his arm towards his shoulder, which had begun to ache again. As he hand grazed across the bandage, he winced slightly, as he realised what he was doing. Phineas recoiled, pulling his hand back, desperately not wanting to be reminded of the crazed maniac who had hurt his brother so badly, yet he knew, that from now on, he'd be permanently reminded, whether by the emotional scars he hid himself from, or by the physical scar left upon his shoulder, the only consolation being that they all survived it.

He lifted his gaze from the floor toward his brother, and watched him, sleeping, not comatose. He saw how his face still winced slightly, from the pain he was so clearly. Phineas saw how Vanessa held his hand, tightly enough to re-assure Ferb's unconscious state that she was still there, but not so much to discomfort him.

Perry saw Phineas running his eyes over everything he saw fleetingly, never allowing his gaze to settle for more than a few seconds. Perry could tell that the boy, despite being re-assured, was still incredibly on edge, and despite the silence having been broken just moments ago, the tension was building again. So he took the boy's hand and tugged on it. He caught Phineas' gaze, and tugged again, then pointed at the door. When all Perry received was a longing glance, one of desire to stay with his brother, it broke his heart at the sadness behind those eyes. So he tugged even harder, determined to get Phineas out of the room, until the boy reluctantly stood up and followed him, out the door and down the corridor to where their friend's had congregated.

Upon Perry and Phineas' entrance in the waiting room, all attention was focused on them. The red-haired boy fidgeted quite nervously, something Perry took into mind with a little worry. The behaviour was completely out of the character for the usually-charismatic, excitable teenager. But it didn't concern him excessively; it didn't surprise the semi-aquatic agent much either. It was to be expected after such an ordeal.

"Is he okay?" Baljeet's high-pitched voice broke the silence. He sat beside Ginger, who held Baljeet's hand tightly within hers, as if he would disappear if she let go.

"Yes…" He smiled, feeling his lip begin to tremble. "He woke up, and he's tired, but he'll be okay…" Perry noticed his nemesis' smile quickly flip, and frowned in confusion. Heinz didn't spot the response from the platypus, but continued on to declare his point anyway.

"He didn't say anything about a wedding did he? Or a best man? Or a best platypus? Or a crazy promise I made to him in the heat of the moment? Or anything remotely marriage or relationship related?" He blurted out, earning many rather confused glances.

"Um, no. I'm not sure I want to ask why…" There was an audible sigh of relief, and Heinz relaxed back into his smile again.

"That's good, then. That's good."

* * *

><p>The second time he awoke, the room was dark. He took a deep breath to calm himself: a night full of what if scenarios and memories had plagued his sleep, like they had done before. He could feel the tiny beads of sweat welling up on his forehead, and began to raise him arm to wipe them away, until his arm fell down again, throbbing with pain. He'd forgotten he'd hurt that arm.<p>

Ferb let his eyes drift shut again, but before he did, he glanced around the room, to make sure no-one was standing in the corner or at the end of his bed, ready to attack, and that his family was there, and safe. It only then dawned upon him just how big the room was, and he wondered whether Candace or OWCA had had any say in this.

Before the thought had progressed far, the darkness dragged him under again, and he accepted it willingly, embracing the peace and rest.

* * *

><p>The third time he woke, the sun shone in through the windows, and he had to squint. The intensity of the light hurt. A lot. Before Ferb had time to process where he was, what he was doing here, and many other questions that danced in his mind, he was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. Or shout.<p>

"Ferb! I am incredibly happy to see you awake, my friend!" Baljeet. Right. Hospital. Everything came flooding back to him, and he smiled when he remembered they were alive. Everyone was alive. Well, actually, that might not be true. He didn't see the aftermath of angry, badass Candace. Or hear about it. But he didn't doubt it was one hell of a fight.

"'Bout time you woke up. Buford's been worried. Buford don't do worried." The bully declared. Worried? Buford? Just how bad was he? He knew it couldn't be good, but the pain had hazed that part of the memory. He remembered the gunshots, the agonising pain running through his body. He just couldn't remember the details. Just noise and pain.

"Hi…" He forced through his mouth, determined to stay awake and communicate more this time. Ferb wanted to know what he'd missed. He glanced around the room, checking nothing had changed, that there was no-one waiting to kill whomever they desired, like those who plagued his rest. He'd almost forgot that Candace, Phineas and Vanessa had taking up residence in his room temporarily, and locked eyes with them each individually. Yet this time something was different. What was he missing?

He caught the familiar ebony hair hidden behind his brother, and smiled inwardly. Then he saw his brother's hand wrapped round the hand of another, the one in his grip smaller, dainter. Female. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened significantly. So the penny had finally dropped with oblivious Phin!

"Phineas Flynn, you dog!" The whole room burst into hysterics, and Isabella stepped out from behind Phineas, grinning. "Oh, and you owe me a fiver Izzie. I told you he'd work it out eventually!" Isabella just laughed even more, covering her mouth with her free hand.

"Damn, I'd thought you'd forgotten about that!"


	27. Home

**A/N  
>So guess what guys! This, officially, is the last chapter of Titanium! I know it may seem rushed, but I personally think that if I carried on writing chapters, the quality would go downhill, so yeah. The next thing that shall be posted is the epilogue, and after a month's break (approximately), I shall return to this fandom with the sequel! So, the target is 200 reviews! We are at 190 reviews! Thank you so much, guys!<strong>

** Fletcher-inator: Haha, I think that is Doof's purpose in life, to be funny, even if he ends up mocking himself!**

**WordNerb93: Thank you! And yup, typical Heinz! Buford seems to hate saying I, for some strange reason, and yup, it is successful then! Thank you!**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Haha, I thought that too, and thank you!**

**Wii Guy: Thank you! It's a pain to write for Perry, but fun at the same time. I think that's a genius idea you have with Candace though!**

**Brainless Genius: Yeah, even Buford worries. He just doesn't like to show it. He doesn't think he can show his emotions, being a 'bully'. Thank you ever so much!**

**celebi4ever: Yup, Izzie!**

**Sierra-275: Thank you so much for two reviews again, it's really helping! It's generally just going over his emotions each time he wakes up, and how they develop, and don't worry, Vanessa is quite large in this chapter!**

The fourth time he woke up, the light was beginning to dim again, but Ferb could tell it wasn't night yet. He glanced around the room, a newly developed habit, and noticed he was alone except for one person. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, looking absolutely exhausted.

"Candace and Phineas won't be gone for long. They've just gone home to freshen up. Jeremy took them. Up until now, they've stayed at the hospital, using the facilities here. I still am." Ferb lifted his hand, and pushed back a piece of hair hanging down in front of Vanessa's eyes, before smiling again. It still hurt him to move it, but not as much, and the pain was worth it.

"I love you, you know." He murmured, and Vanessa squeezed his hand slightly, looking away with a slight blush rising in her cheeks.

"I know… I love you too, you daft sausage." Ferb chuckled slightly. "I don't know where I'd be without you, dear…" Vanessa merely blushed even more, and bit her lip slightly, a sadness embedded into her actions.

"Not here," she mumbled, looking down to the floor. Ferb lifted her head, and smiled at her. It wasn't her fault, it was no-one's fault except one man. And, well, Ferb was pretty sure he'd live to regret what he'd done, if he hadn't actually lost his marbles.

"I don't regret it. I'd die for you, Vanessa…" He whispered, trying to make her understand. If he had to go for he to stay, he knew what choice he'd make, and he'd make it again if he ever had to.

"I know…" She sighed, "Just, don't try something stupid like that again. Please." He could hear the sorrow woven into her words, and wanted to be able to say of course. To promise what she desired, and give her peace of heart. But he knew deep down he could never make that promise truthfully. He'd always throw himself between her and danger for the rest of his life, that was what love was, wasn't it? Giving anything for that one person, over and over again?

Vanessa noticed his silence, and knew he wouldn't answer. She knew it was a long shot, asking him to promise her that, but she had to try anyway. For him. "At least plan your stupid things out better then, if you ever do something as crazy as that again. You might want to die for me, but where would that leave me?" She paused for a second, watching intently for a reaction. Any reaction. "In a loveless world. I don't want to live in a loveless world, Ferb. I'd rather join you any day."

"Then I promise to plan out my stupid acts of love better in future. For you, dear." His smile was serious, sympathetic for a few moments, before a rather mischievous thought broke out in his mind, and he grinned. "Now are you going to sit there like you waited here to be enchanted by my British accent and gentleman ways, or are you going to kiss me?" Vanessa laughed at his rather playful streak presenting itself, and lowered her head, Ferb meeting her halfway. Their lips touched, and Vanessa decided that if the roles had ever been swapped, she would have done the same for Ferb. Because that was what love was to her. Doing anything and everything for that one person.

Their lips parted, and she looked him in the eyes, playing on her 'innocent' look, before stealing another moment of perfection from him. Well, until she heard the coughing from behind her. They both twisted towards the doorway, to see and Phineas Flynn with his face as red as his hair.

"And you called me the dog!"

* * *

><p>The days passed by, slowly turning to weeks. To Monogram's dismay, Candace had insisted Ferb not be moved. Judging by the doctor she'd had, the medical care here far exceeded than that back at OWCA headquarters. Monogram was rather sad, as it would be the first time a human had spent an extended period of time in their medical wing, not long after their first human patient, being the same Ferb aforementioned.<p>

The day came when he was discharged from the hospital, with strict orders to not overwork himself. Everyone present highly doubted Ferb would take heed of the instructions. The wounds had healed, leaving small scars to mark their presence, and the bruise which lay upon his face had faded completely. He'd regained his colour again, and looked far less alike a ghost out of the bandages which he had previously been swamped in.

Ferb walked out of the hospital, smiling at the sun, the first time he'd seen it outside of a room in weeks. Vanessa walked beside him, Phineas the other side, hand in hand with Isabella. Candace and Jeremy walked together just behind, followed by Baljeet and Buford, bickering as usual. About the pettiest of topics.

"Buford, you really should pay more attention to the fat levels in everything you eat!" Baljeet shouted, throwing his hands erratically in the air. No-one within their travelling group except Buford paid heed to his actions, yet he earned several confused glances from those who happened to pass the group by.

"You calling me fat, nerd? Buford don't like being called fat." He said, rather bluntly in his deep tone, all whilst staring Baljeet down. He wasn't much taller than the boy who walked beside him, and yet he still managed to make Baljeet feel tiny.

"No! No!" He shouted in defence, still waving his arms around. "I am saying that if you keep eating without paying any attention to the statistics on the wrappers, you could end up killing yourself!" The brothers ahead turned to face each other, with eye rolls and eyebrows raising, wondering whether Baljeet was actually still trying to get through to Buford with math. Of all things, math.

"I'll do the eating, you can do your special nerdy thing with your calculator. If I die because of food, I'll be happy. Die eating. The best way." This time, Isabella turned to face Buford with an expression of disbelief.

"Guys, we're outside a hospital. Is talking about dying really the most appropriate conversation you could think of? Really?" She received a confused stare of Baljeet, until it finally clicked in, and he looked down to the floor, ashamed. Buford just carried on walking, pretending he hadn't heard her, but he took the words to heart. He may be a bully, but he was still a good person at the end of the day.

* * *

><p>The journey back was short, but it seemed to drag on, for the two brothers especially. There was nothing neither of them desired more than to settle into their normal routine of an-invention-a-day, and forget the past events. They weren't events one strove to remember, nor ones which were remembered with any hints of happiness. It was all sadness, and anger.<p>

Buford and Baljeet had parted, leaving the cluster alone. Tomorrow they would catch up with them, but today was settling back in. Pretending nothing had changed. Candace rapped her fist against the door, grinning at Jeremy, much the Phineas and Ferb's confusion. Isabella and Vanessa just stood beside them, smiling excitedly.

The door swung open, to reveal a teal monotreme in a party had, stood in front of a crudely painted post, which seemed to read 'Welcome Home!". Perry grinned at them, and put his two thumbs up, looking completely ridiculous, as any platypus would whilst wearing party gear designed for a person much larger than himself.

He gestured for them to wait as they laughed, and the semi-aquatic agent ran towards the kitchen in what many would describe as a 'drunken platypus' manner, zig zagging all over the place. He quickly returned, bearing a cake larger than himself, with the cheesiest smile the platypus could hope to ever muster.

Ferb had to admit, he'd never seen anything stranger than his semi-aquatic pet wearing a party hat, running round like a drunken loon whilst carrying a cake Perry looked like he'd collapse under. And he'd travelled to another universe where his girlfriend's father was emperor, for Meep's sake. Though it certainly was a nice way to come back home, end the series of nightmare-inducing events with a laughable memory. And he was certainly never letting Perry let this one go. That would be passing up on a perfect opportunity.

Phineas smiled as he stood amongst friends and family, and knew that though he'd put this down as the worst experience of his life, it was finally coming to an end. And what a better way to end it than bearing the hand of his girlfriend, stood beside his brother and sister, whilst watching his clearly crazed platypus run around excitedly.

Neither of them could've ever chosen a better way to end it…


	28. Epilogue

**A/N  
>201 reviews! We did it, you guys did it! I can't thank you enough, the support was overwhelming, especially for my first fanfiction. Seriously, thank you guys! Now, I give you the epilogue. But before you read on, keep this in mind. This has a beast of a cliff hanger. The sequel will not be posted until at least a month from now. So if you would rather keep Titanium as a standalone, and think that a sequel would ruin it, stop reading. Right now. Because this is the transition between the two. And don't worry, Titanium does work as a standalone.<strong>

**PFTones3482: Yeah, I had a lot of fun writing for Perry. He was probably my favourite character to write for, then it would be between Vanessa, Candace and Doof. And you're welcome!**

**Lichylichy: Thank you ever so much for all your reviews, and I do apologise for you feeling that way in relation to Peter. I personally quite like him as an agent, and I do plan on giving him a good role in the next story. But I never intended for him to be truly on the bad side: he had no choice with it, and being a character that most people disliked, I used him as the one being controlled, as a fair few wouldn't have suspected him of not doing it of his own choice, but more by force. But yes, Peter is perfectly innocent. It was all Rodney. Thank you for all the reviews again :)**

**Wii Guy: That actually a genius idea, I may have to use that idea myself haha! And I cracked up at the calmcalm downdown thing, thank you dear. And yup, that was intentional, I do actually feed quite a lot of tiny, little details through, wondering if people will pick up on them, like I have done once in this one. I would say it's for fun, but it's because of English at school, drumming into our head that authors do those little things :) Thank you! I wanted to end it on a happy note, as stories should end!**

**Radar180: Oh my gosh, that means so much to me, I can't thank you enough! Wow! Um, yeah, well, here's the epilogue, and don't worry, I will gift all you amazing people a sequel. Thank you!**

**Brainless Genius: Who wouldn't eat a Perry cake, especially when Perry himself presented you with it! Thank you!**

**Sierra-275: I could definitely see that, if Phineas hadn't interrupted them so Phineas-ly! And thank you for all the reviews, and well done on review 200! The estimate for the release of the sequel is approximately 20/6/12, but it may differ slightly. I will try my best to keep that date though, if not post it before that :)**

**DizzyPirate: Thank you! Well, here is the epilogue for you, so that's one sorted haha. Heh, you'll see here then if Ferb remembers, because I agree, Doof's reaction would be priceless! Aww, thank you so much!**

**So, thank you all ever so much for all supporting me in this, I love you all! And without further ado, I present you with the Epilogue!**

_A few weeks later…_

Ferb smiled, rubbing the small box held within his hands, his brother watching him curiously. That was one of the things about Phineas: he was always curious. It was always a what if, or a how, or maybe a why in his mind, never a straightforward statement. Eventually, he gave into the pressing curiosity, and spoke out what was playing on his mind.

"What on Earth are you smiling like a madman for?" Ferb's smile grew wider for a moment, and he called his younger brother over to the sofa, next to him. Phineas bounded over, rather like an over excited puppy. Nothing had changed there, then.

"I've got something to ask you, Phineas…" He said, and held the small box out, lying flat atop his palm. Phineas picked it up, inspecting it from all angles. Velvety. Dark blue. Hinge on the back. Very small. He gave up trying to figure out what it was, and slowly lifted the lid, trying to peek underneath in case it was just another prank. Something sparkly. He snapped the lid open, never one for patience, and gasped when he saw a ring, mounted with a diamond, sat in the middle. His eyes grew wide and he paled ever so slightly.

"Um, Ferb, I love you and everything, but I've got Isabella, and yo-you've got Vanessa" he stuttered, still not really sure how to react. "And anyway, I love you as a bro, that's it. Sorry. Um, yeah." His voice trailed off as Ferb began to laugh and smile at him again. "What?"

"You've got it wrong, I just wanted to ask you-" He was cut off by yet another panicked rant, and just smiled as he watched his brother flush bright red. He'd have to try this more often. Amusing results.

"No! I'm won't marry you! Sorry, I really am, but you're my brother! I want to marry Isabella!" Before Phineas could carry on embarrassing himself, Ferb decided to set him right. As amusing as it was.

"I was going to ask if you liked the ring. I was going to propose to Vanessa. Though I am a little offended by your reply." He grinned at his brother, and added cheekily onto the end, "Why wouldn't you want to marry me?" When his brother began to panic again, stuck for words, he laughed and rested his hand upon Phineas' shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"I, um, think it's a lovely ring! Vanessa will be so happy! Wait…" Phineas paused a second, frowning ever so slightly. "This hasn't got anything to do with the fact that you're soon-to-be in-law won't chase you around the house with a ray gun if you propose, has it?" Ferb cracked another grin, and Phineas joined his brother in laughing.

"You know me all too well, brother." He said, and nudged Phineas slightly in the side. "Well, wish me luck, Phineas!" Ferb stood up, and took the ring back, before making his way over to the door. He turned to face his brother once more, and waved.

"Good luck, Ferb!"

The door shut behind him.

He glanced over to his car, parked on the roadside, and decided to walk instead, enjoy the fresh air on such a fine day. With hope that the dark clouds in the distance weren't headed his way all too quickly. But even if they were, nothing would be able to dampen such a day for Ferb Fletcher. For today was the day he declared his love with the offer of marriage. Today was the day he proposed.

* * *

><p>After half an hour or so, he'd reached the flats where Vanessa lived. She'd owned an apartment for a while, funded by her Dad, who was now rather more successful at making money than a few years prior. Staying with her dad over some of the weekends had just become a habit, like staying with her mom on other weekends.<p>

Ferb stood still for a moment, thanking whatever deity looked over him for letting him be such a lucky him. He looked upwards to the sky, only to find those dark clouds hanging over him, threatening to rain on him. Yet all he could do was smile.

His smile grew as he walked through the building doors, the excitement mounting up inside of him. He glanced over to the elevator, fingers crossed that it had been fixed. Well, there was a man stood outside it, in one of those stupid high visibility vests. So surely that meant something.

"Hey, mate." The worker turned to face him, and greeted Ferb with a smile. "You know if this is working?" It's a shot a dark, but who knew, maybe he was in luck today.

"Lemme check for you, gimme a second." He pulled his walkie talkie out of his pocket, a small smile present on his face. With two fingers, he pressed inwards and held the walkie talkie up to his mouth. "Al, you all sorted up there?" They stood for a few moments, until a crackly voice tuned in.

"Yeah, yeah. It's all working now, good to go!" Ferb let a sigh of relief escape his lips. The worker grinned at him, and gestured for him to enter once he hit the button, after pulling down the loosely taped sign on the door, that read 'Out of Order'.

"Well, have fun, mate." The worker called as the door slide shut, and Ferb closed his eyes, ready to hum along to the cheesy elevator tune that rang through the speakers. Only it never came. He furrowed his brow slightly, confused, then opened his eyes. Across the metal doors in front of him, spray painted crudely in red, was a message.

You thought it was over, Ferb Fletcher.

Then the sleeping gas began to roll in through the vents.


	29. The Sequel Is Now Out

**Now out: Survivor Guilt  
><strong>_**  
><strong>__The threat is bigger than any of them ever imagined, and a certain group of friends are pushed to the limits, threatening to tear them apart. With help from old friends and new, can they make it together? Betrayal, hurt and romance. Titanium sequel._

**For you guys who haven't got me on author subscribe, or haven't seen this in the listings yet, I am pleased to announce that the sequel to Titanium, Survivor Guilt, is now officially out, almost a month early. Guess I just couldn't wait to write again, guys. So, yeah!**

**Side note: I had someone point out that I had written Ferb is 17, suggesting he has had a birthday between Titanium and Survivor Guilt. This is intentional. There will be references to his birthday at some point.**

**Thank you, and this is huggable out for the last time on Titanium!**


End file.
